Already Some Improvement

We got home on Saturday the 2nd around 2:30 pm. We were so excited to see the boys! I missed them so much, but enjoyed talking to them on Skype each morning while I was gone. They are on October break now for two weeks. I’m looking forward to hanging out with them. When I was swimming with them the day after I got back I was sitting in the pool on a step and I was able to kick my right leg out about 8 inches without recruiting any other muscles for help. This was very encouraging since before I could only kick it out an inch or so with out using other muscles to help do this. Stay tuned for more updates as I progress. Again, remember that it can take up to 6 or 7 months to see all the effects of the stem cells and my hard work.
My first day back at therapy I was able to do sit ups with only about a 4 inch wedge behind me, all on my own. Before Panama, I needed that wedge plus a pillow and my therapist had to hold my fingers as I was coming up to help me some. I’m so excited to do them on my own now. I want to work on not even having the 4 inch wedge behind me at all. Then it will be a normal sit up all the way.

Now during the neuro which is when they shock my muscles to help my legs move and contract well, my legs kick out straight at only a level 6. Before I got more stem cells, they needed a level 10 to do this. I hope these are all signs of even more good to come. It’s exciting each day to see what will happen next. I feel very strong and it feels good. Again, I am so thankful for any return and I believe more will come!

On October 7th I went to the Grand Opening of the Celebration Stem Cell Center that just opened in Gilbert. It’s located by Mercy Gilbert Medical Center off the 202. It was a great event. I was excited to see Sherry Lund there. She is the one who originally introduced me to the idea of stem cells and the Stem Cell Institute. She is such a wonderful lady who has always believed that each life is precious. This is the facilities mission statement.

Mission Statement
It is to provide the highest quality of viable stem cells for transplant and regenerative medicine and to increase awareness of the healing effects of stem cells. There is a medical necessity to establish a diverse and global inventory of cord blood stem cells to offer hope to patients who suffer from a life threatening disease or injury. Through a comprehensive public awareness campaign, we will reveal the facts about stem cell therapy.

If you want to learn more you can contact them at http://www.celebrationstemcellcentre.com/

As she was giving the presentation with her family and the Mayor of Gilbert was talking too, they asked me to speak. I wasn't expecting this but I was happy to share my story and people were very touched. I met many wonderful people and doctors. How exciting that a umbilical cord blood bank and stem cell processing center is right here in Gilbert, Arizona. It’s still too bad that they can’t use these stem cells here in the US yet for spinal cord injury patients. But, it is a huge step to help the US get further along in this amazing medical treatment.

I am so grateful that Cell Medicine in Panama is there for us now. They were wonderful, caring and honest people. They can’t promise that it will work for everyone, but through their patients they are seeing many amazing results. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue on my journey.

Our Last Day in Panama

Well Friday October 1st was our last day here in Panama. I went to physical therapy and worked out then we said good bye to the new friends we met. We hope to keep in contact with them to share our good results along the way.



My last injection went well. I said goodbye to Dr. Herrero my anesthesiologist. She was great! Each time that I got an injection into my spinal fluid, she would always say. “Good Job Trish, One less” Now I’m all done for this treatment. Yeah!

I am excited to get home and start working out again. I am very optimistic and hopeful to see what will return this time. I’m also very excited for the future. With how things are going in the medical world things look very bright for people with spinal cord injuries.

Sorry it has been a few days since the last post, but there hasn’t been much new to report. Tuesday night we went out to dinner with Dr. Ugalde and Natalia, who also works at the lab. We went to a great restaurant that was chosen by Natalia. It was called Jaleo. It had a nice atmosphere, and the food was great.

Wednesday was a therapy and injection day. Between therapy and the injection we met up with Shaun Doss and his Dad Robert. Trish knows Shaun from back home at SOS therapy. He’s a 7 year old with a spinal cord injury. We were excited to meet up with them and take a stroll down the boardwalk. However, it was really hot out and were all happy to finally get into the mall and grab a bite to eat. Wednesday was Trish’s first injection of her own bone marrow stem cells. Everything went smoothly with the injection and the rest of the evening was spent relaxing.

Thursday was therapy and then an IV. At therapy we met another spinal cord injury patient, Bruce, from Iowa. After meeting at therapy we made plans to go out for dinner that night with him and his friend Melissa.

After Trish’s IV we got to go to the lab for a tour. This was really interesting. The lab is located next to the canal on the old US military base. There are a lot of businesses located in this area and several US Universities that have small campuses here. We thought that was interesting. The lab Director, who we met last week, gave a nice presentation of their processes and procedures on how they prepare the cells. It’s a huge process. We loved learning more about it. We also met Pablo, who is the CEO of the clinic. He too was very personable and took time with us to answer any questions we had. While we were there we also saw Natalia again and she was busy working on the cells. We missed Dr. Ugalde as he left the day prior to fly to Minnesota to run a marathon – Good luck Federico! It’s clear from talking to everyone at the lab
(and the clinic in general), they are all very excited about the work they are doing and love what they do. They are so hopeful of even more possibilities for the future. We had hoped to see
Dr. Riordan again, but he was out of the country and was returning later tonight.

After the lab tour we went out to dinner with Bruce and Melissa to another great restaurant it was called Don Patacon. We tried ceviche, an appetizer, which is a dish they are known for here. It’s raw fish marinated in citrus juices (lime and lemon) and then it also had mangos, coconut milk, and other spices. It was great! For dinner we both ordered another fish dish, red snapper this time, which was delicious. We have really loved the food down here. It’s really good and affordable. It was great to have dinner with Bruce and Melissa. They were both really nice and we hope to keep in touch with them after we leave here.

Here are some real cool pictures of mesenchmal stem cells that they shared with us at the lab. Dye has been added to enhance the pictures.

This picture is of the mesenchymal stem cells in their natural form. As you can see they are relatively flat.

As the cells get ready to split they start to get into a ball shape.

Here is a really cool picture of a cell splitting!

Here are a few pictures of some of the rooms in the lab.

Here is Trish and Natalia. We met Natalia earlier in the week and were very impressed with her knowledge and passion for the work they are doing in the lab!

We are not sure why, but there have been fireworks right outside the condo over the bay twice since we have been here, the last one was Thursday night. Check out the pictures!

Friday is our last day in Panama! Trish has therapy and her last injection (Bone marrow again). We will be busy packing and getting ready to leave in the morning. Our flight is at 7:00 in the morning which means we need to leave our condo at 4:30, which means we need to get up around 2:30, which is 12:30 am back home! Saturday is going to be another long travel day, but boy are we excited to get home!!! It’s been nice talking with the boys each morning on Skype but we miss them like crazy!