NAME: Linda Maher

COUNTRY: Ireland

AGE: 26

DIAGNOSIS: Friedriech's Ataxia

REASON FOR COMING FOR TREATMENT: About five years before she started going to the doctor because of lack of balance and problems holding things. She went with her brother to get diagnosed and found that they both had Friedriech's Ataxia. About two years ago, Linda got pneumonia and had to lie on the couch for about four weeks. After that she got tired a lot more easily and started to rely on a wheelchair because it gave her independence. Finally she got slowly worse until she decided to go with her brother to China for treatment with the hope that it would give her more independence.

TREATMENT: Umbilical Cord Stem Cell and Nerve Growth Factor Injections with Rehabilitation Therapy

START OF TREATMENT: October 10, 2006

BEFORE THE TREATMENT (10/13/2006):

See Videos: Before1 , Before2 , Before3 , Before4

When Linda would get up in the morning, she would go and have breakfast and she would be fine but after she would stop for a minute, she would have to go for a nap because she felt very tired. When she slept at night and would turn over, she would get a cramp which would wake her up. She would stretch in the morning three to four times to avoid the cramps. Her voice was slurred but after she focused on speech therapy it was fine so she did not need to improve this part. She also did not have complete feeling in her legs. In the beginning of the treatment, when they put the acupuncture needles in, she did not know where they were inserted. Her balance was poor and she spent a lot of time in the wheelchair. Due to balance problems, she would fall from time-to-time.

AFTER THE TREATMENT (11/16/06):

Videos: After1 , After2 , After3 , After4 , After5 , After6

Linda no longer felt tired during the day after getting up in the morning. She did not fall during the whole time she was in China. The feeling in her arms and legs came back to a point that when they put the acupuncture needles in her legs, she knew where they were and knew that it hurt. Because she had more feeling in her legs, even though she walked slower, she felt more sure footed. The last two weeks of the treatment, she did not feel off balance at all though she still had to hold her mother’s hand when walking. She did not have cramps in her legs since right after the first injection and she no longer had to stretch in the mornings.

12/11/06: (From an E-mail)

The two of us are doing great. We kept up the exercises since we've been home and Mum is even making us have acupuncture every week.

We're still improving a bit at a time. Cramps in our legs are totally gone for both of us, we have bundles of energy so no more naps during the day. Jason was getting bouts of dizziness and passing out from all the unbalance and lack of co-ordination before the treatment and that’s gone too. Jason is now walking around on the flat of his feet, whereas he used to walk around on his tippy toes and feels a lot studier and more controlled because of it.

I’m balancing on my feet now, and can even go for a little walk in the evenings - not far now, for about 5 minutes - and even though I still need someone to hold hands with or link, its still a big improvement.

Neither of us got a bad cold when we came home - we just had a dose of sniffles for about a week. But luckily enough Mum has had us on a truck full of daily vitamins so we we're able to keep it at bay. Grace told us that we shouldn’t catch cold when we arrived home.

So far so good. Everything is going great for both of us - I just feel so much better in general since I came back from China – and that kind of result you just can’t put a price on.

China Stem Cell News Note: We sincerely apologize for the poor noise quality on the video. We will do our best to avoid this in future coverage.

12/12/06: Answers to Questions in an e-mail from Linda.

China Stem Cell News: Did you go out for walks before at night? How was it different than now after the treatment?

Linda: I never went for walks before - I was too tired, and I wouldn't get very far at all when I'd get really bad pains in my legs.

It's different now - because I can and because the therapists in china taught me to walk slowly and with more control and I have no muscle pains since China.

b) How is the feeling in your legs now?

I still have feeling in my legs and it seems to be getting more and more intense but its not happening as quickly. As in I saw such an improvement straight away and now its about every week or so that I can do new things. e.g. I can wiggle all my toes now in turn, which is a big thing because I haven't felt my toes in years.

c) Is your writing any better?

My writing and hand control in general is a lot better. I can carry hot drinks from A to B without shaking and my typing in work is quicker with a lot fewer mistakes.