" If people truly understand the limits and the potential benefits and the real risks associated with these stem cell therapies, then why not let them spend their money on one last hope? "
DIAGNOSIS: Relapse-Remitting MS, diagnosed in May 2000
REASON FOR COMING FOR TREATMENT: An MRI scan taken after the patient suffered a concussion in 2000 revealed that she had MS. The concussion was not responsible for the onset of MS - its discovery was a coincidence. The symptoms were not severe. The patient decided to have treatment as soon as possible to prevent her condition from worsening in the future. She hoped to regain some of her strength and stamina, to improve her eyesight, and also regain some feeling sensation in the right hand side of her body. TREATMENT: Umbilical Cord Stem Cell and Nerve Growth Factor Injections with Rehabilitation Therapy
START OF TREATMENT: May 16, 2007
See Betty's clips combined and subtitled into one video (and streaming) on Vimeo and YouTube.
Since diagnosis, the patient's right side had degenerated to the extent that under intermediate exertion (walking, daily activities such as cooking), the leg would become numb causing the foot to drag, or causing the patient to trip. This also affected her balance. The patient had optic nerve damage - not necessarily as a result of her condition. This characterised itself in the form of spells of double vision, specifically when she looked to the left. Other visual impairments include a traveling right eye. The patient reported to her family (quoted in Youtube video and Betty's daughter - 'Improvements') that she 'felt like she was in a fog'. She had several tactile problems with the right side of her body, including extreme lack of sensation in the right side of her face, prominent during mornings. She also had severe difficulty coping with heat.
One of the patient's most prominent improvements is well documented in the videos 'Betty - Improvements' and Youtube - 'Interviews'. She decribes a tactile anomaly in her face consisting of a sudden absence of sensation as she traces her hand from left to right. According to the patient, this phenomena no longer exists at time of filming. She reports that a day after treatment, she walked four times further than she had been able to walk previously, before tiring. In addition, she claims to be, "Almost normal," along with stating that she is no longer suffering from double vision, she is observing general improvements in right-side sensation, she has better balance and more stamina. The patient described a revertion to her previous condition (numbness and heaviness of the right side) only after exertive activity.
VIDEOS:
Treatment:
May 19 (two days after first injection): Feeling , Stamina
