Goodness, it is time for things to settle down now. The fundraiser went well, with about 150 people in attendance enjoying the music and bidding wars, we raised over $6000.

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of happenings besides the fundraiser. They removed 6 foot of my intestine, because there were 42 ulcers in a 5½-foot span caused by the C-Diff. Then, I took a hard fall last weekend and dislocated 3 ribs under the left shoulder blade, the bruising and inflammation just won’t let me get comfortable to rest, just sitting back in the chair or laying on my back is more than even I can handle. We are working on this daily to get things back to normal, but the pain that comes with it is just almost too much. Please keep in prayer that this will heal quickly. Also, I go for the MRI on the 23rd to see if the C7 vertebra has healed any from the accident in July. The fall this last weekend has irritated it for sure so will have to wait to see what the doctor says about it all. I really have been wearing my seat belt on my chair, but the fall was when I was trying to transfer and the new air mattress on my bed slipped. Another prayer request would be that this pressure sore on my right hip area that is taking its sweet time to heal. Right now I can’t lie on my stomach, back or either side, how do I get comfortable to sleep? Any ideas?

Now I would like to address a few things. Why go to China, if it is not an approved treatment in the United States, it must not be ready or safe. (I have searched high and low for something in the USA and there just isn’t anything) Ok, I know that just because this treatment is not approved in the USA doesn’t mean that it is not safe. I wouldn’t go through all this if I hadn’t researched it to the max. I don’t feel that I am to sit back and just deal with the cards that are dealt, am I? Are we not to seek out help and treatment for whatever illness we are stricken with. There are risks, but so does many treatments here in the USA, what about people with cancer, they have the option of chemotherapy, radiation both of which break the body down before you are able to see the healing part of the process. The medications used for many aliments are researched and tested here in the US as well as other parts of the world. Just because the Retinal stem cell transplant I am going for is not approved in the USA yet, doesn’t mean that it is done illegally, or unsafe. Yes, China is open about their abortion practices, but that doesn’t mean that that is the only place they get the stem cells for research. You can’t use embryonic stem cells for the research when you are having a retinal stem cell transplant. It just isn’t possible. There are more kinds of stem cells to use for research than embryonic.

I know I am going to a place that has practiced the use of embryonic stem cells, how do I feel about that. First let me say that I don’t think what I am doing is immoral or unethical. Just because I am seeking treatment to stop the pain I deal with daily, or to fight for each day just to be able to function on a small level. I am human and I will continue to search for something that works. Will I cross the line and go for embryonic stem cells. NO! Just because there is or has been practice of stem cell research on aborted babies doesn’t mean that I support their actions. It doesn’t mean that I co-done them in anyway. I know that if I didn’t do business with any company that supports abortion, homosexuality, and/or fetal stem cell research, I would be confined to my home. I have done just that this week, I have researched what the companies we deal with on a daily basis support (without our knowledge for the most part). The following are in the top 250 supporting companies nationwide of abortion, homosexuality.

Pepsi Co, Coco-cola Co, Wachovia, Gap, Bank of America, Sears, Ford, Toyota, Wells Fargo, Walgreen’s, UPS, Time Warner, Visa, Starbucks, Reynolds, Progressive, Prudential Financial, Pillsbury, Nike, Microsoft Corp, MasterCard, Macy's, Kimberly Clark, Kaiser Permanente, Johnson & Johnson, JC Penney Co, JP Morgan, Intel Corp, Honeywell International, Hewitt Packard, Dell, Fannie Mae, Sallie Mae, Ebay, Dow Chemical, Continental Airlines, United airlines, Clorox Co, Citi Group, Charles Schwab, Chevron, Carmax, Capital One, Borders, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, AT&T, AllState, American Express Co, Unilever, Whole foods, Walt Disney, Adobe Systems, Target, Home Depot... and this is to name just a few of them.

It is the every day companies we do business with that send our money to support issues that we as Christians don’t believe in or support. Does that make it right or wrong for us to patronize them? So how is that different from me going to China for help? I know my money is going there for treatment, but that still doesn’t mean that I support all their practices. I am striving for a better quality of life here on earth. I don’t know of anyone who is told that they or a loved one have a fatal disease and quits looking for treatment. I’m no different. Does it mean that if I shop at Sears, Macy’s, JC Penney’s or Home Depot that I approve of who they send funds to and support? NO, does it mean that I’m doing something unethical or immoral? NO. I am just someone who is searching for treatment. I know that not everyone will be supportive of my decisions, but before you cast out that stone and look at that judgment ballot, please look inside and think about what you’d do if it were you, your child, or a family member.

Who knows, maybe in the future, we will have the opportunity here in the USA to use adult stem cells for more research and treatments. We don’t know when that will be, but for now, I will continue to seek the money for my trip to China and get the treatment there. Until then, I am at peace with my decision of this treatment, and am keeping the Lord in the forefront of it all.

There will be another fundraiser in the works very soon so keep watching for those details.
Blessings to all,
Pamela

Thank you

Where do I start, Thank you just doesn’t seem to be enough right now. I am so humbled by the out pouring love and support to put this event together. Thank you so much!


It has been 20 months since I received the diagnosis of Spinocerebellum Ataxia, and at that time my life really changed forever. The doctor seemed to give me a death sentence on that cold day in January 2009. 3-5 years is what he said that I would have left here on earth. Let me tell you tonight, that at first I thought it as a death sentence, but have moved those thoughts to a challenge to fight this with all I have to make life better for all I can. I want to fight for a cure, a treatment of any kind. Even though my body kept giving up on me and getting weaker, and organs beginning to give me fits and finally quitting on me. With 6 different surgeries in the last six months and spending almost 21 weeks in the hospital in the last year alone, I never gave up even when I wanted to. Knowing that there just has to be something out there to help me. Searching on my own as the doctors tell me there is nothing; I finally stumbled across something while I was in the hospital in July. I found a blog of a young lady with the same disease and just got home from Beijing China. She just had her stem cell transplant program completed and was walking again. After contacting the hospital and do some major research, talking to my doctors, and even patients who had been to China for the same treatment, I decided I wanted to give this a try.

I talked to Maria at the hospital in China, who is my contact person to get everything approved and set up. Sending medical records and lots of paperwork, not to mention all the questions I wanted answered, she has been there for me through it all. On July 30th I was approved into the program. This is when my journey started a new chapter. That is how we got here tonight, to start raising money so I can go for this treatment.

I know many have questions about this kind of treatment, so let me try to explain to you briefly. Because of all the stem cell controversy in the USA this is not an approved treatment here in the United States yet, however it is approved in other parts of the world. Beijing China is one of them, and really was the only one that I found that didn’t leave me with an uneasy feeling with the information I found. Being able to talk to patients who had been there helped a lot as well. Then recently talking to my therapist who had a patient go over for the same treatment and came home walking with assistance.

The treatment will consist of a 6-8 week stay at the 25-bed clinic, which is just off the main hospital. Once I get to the clinic I will have bone marrow extracted, that will also be mixed with retinal stem cells (from an organ donor) to grow over 23 million stem cells to be re-implanted. Each week for 4 weeks they will implant a minimum of5.5 million stem cells with a lumbar puncture procedure and then laying flat on my back for 6 hours for the cells to ‘stick’. The neurosurgeons are still looking to see if I will qualify to have one implant directly into the brain stem which they say is super beneficial, but I haven’t heard back on that as of yet. There will also be daily Physical, occupational, massage, acupuncture therapies, along with other Chinese medicines. It isn’t an easy program, but one that I am looking forward to.

Many have expressed concerns about the possibility of embryonic stem cells being used. Please be assured that this is NOT the case, I will be using retinal stem cells from an organ donor, just like a heart, liver or kidney donor, except mine will come from the eye of the donor. I would never have even considered this program if they were using embryonic stem cells on me. I don’t care how many promises it made. I would rather sit in this chair and go home to the Lord sooner before using embryonic cells for my gain.

So what is this treatment suppose to do? This has been proven to reverse symptoms of disease, help regain movements, sight, and basic functions to the body. MANY are able to begin walking again, although it may be with assistance, taking months to regain strength because of lost or weak muscles, it is still a start. This treatment has enabled many to regain the ability to talk and eat again without the fear of choking. It has enabled many the blessing to just sit up in a chair without falling over, to brush their own teeth and dress themselves, or something as simple as feeling someone hold their hand. This is HOPE for many.

What do I hope from this treatment; the very first thing is that it brings glory and honor to the Lord. I hope that many will see how He works in my life on a daily basis, regardless of what situation I am in. I hope that I will be able to regain strength and walk again. I hope to have my organs to begin to function properly again. I would like to see this disease GO AWAY for GOOD!!! I hope that this will in some way show those in the USA that treatment can be done without using the fetal cells and embryonic cells for research. We don’t need to use them to get the results needed to help the sick and dying.

What if I don’t get the results I want? OK, we are all selfish when it comes to not getting what we want and I am no different. But I have to say that if nothing else, it this treatment can stop this disease from progressing any further, I will be happy. Yes, I want to walk, and do all the things I use to do, but I have to be realistic about things as well. I know that there is a possibility that I may not walk again and to be honest, I think I am ok with that, however that isn’t going to stop me from trying. We won’t know for sure the full effect of the treatments for about 18 months, as it takes that long for the cells to do their job, and with the continued treatments after coming home. It will take time to regain lost muscles through therapies. Yes, I am up to that challenge for this treatment.

I have been challenged over the last 6 years and have had to go through things that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. But at the same time, I am blessed to have been able to go through them as well. I have grown so much closer to the Lord; I have met some amazing people that I would have never even had the chance to meet. My room-mate, Ruby, that many of you have heard me talk about from the nursing home, changed my life forever in a way that few could ever understand, I truly have to say that she was my wake up call to life when I needed it the most and without this illness I would have never met her. You sure can learn a lot from those who have lived, loved and lost much in life.

Let me take a few seconds to thank each of you for your love and support. My life has been forever touch by you and I will be forever blessed to call you my friends and family. I also want to Thank the Lord for placing me in situations that only he knew that I would be able to get through, Thank you for staying beside me when I couldn’t stand to be beside myself. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, you are my rock, my shelter, my redeemer, my healer, you are my Savior.

I have several things to share, and to answer questions for everyone that has sent me questions. I will answer on here just so everyone will have the information just in case you have questions and just didn’t ask.

Is this treatment experimental? The treatments that are conducted in Tiantan Puhua hospital are not under clinical trial, they are conducted under certain protocols that proved to be safe and effective and their one goal is to offer improvement and better quality of life to patients. We provide individualized treatments to patients under a certain protocol that was developed by our neurologist and neurosurgeons.

Can this treatment be done somewhere besides China? Yes, Apart from the stem cells used, the treatment offered in our hospital is a comprehensive treatment, built on an extensive rehabilitation program in which stem cells are only one part of the treatment protocol, supported by a daily intake of neurotrophic factors (Neurotrophic factors are a family of proteins that are responsible for the growth and survival of developing neurons and the maintenance of mature neurons. Recent research has proven that neurotrophic factors are capable of re-growing damaged neurons), daily sessions of Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments, Physical therapy and Occupational therapy. While the German clinics treat the patients with one injection only, in our hospital we offer 4-5 weeks comprehensive treatment, in which the stem cells are only a part of treatment, not the main focus.

What are the risks and side effects? We have observed a few reactions to the implantation, in the form of flu like symptoms, which last from a few hours to a few days. Neural and mesenchymal stem cells present with a low immuno genicity, and so far we have not seen any rejections. Depending on our doctor's research and clinic experience, there are no risk of long-term side effect of our stem cell treatment procedure. We use cell lines. When we choose the cells, we do a series of tests to avoid virus infections, bacillus, tumors growth, mutation, etc.; these tests will insure the safety of the stem cells used for practice. Patients have reported on short-term side effects such as headache, low fever, weakness, and dizziness. Side effects usually persist between the first 24 hours and 3 days after the injection and can be controlled by our medical team. Up to date, none of our patients have reported on a long-term reaction upon leaving the hospital.

Why use retina stem cells, and how does that work? Stem cells could not be obtained from your retina, since it would mean losing sight. Retina is the only part of the Central Nervous System that is visible, and derivation of stem cells from a live person would result in damaging the eyes. The retinal cells are obtained from (organ) donations that are extracted by qualified hospitals and kept in cells banks (similarly to donation of other organs). The cells are then cultured in Beijing Tiantan Puhua hospital's stem cell lab before implantation.

What will the money be used for that you are trying to raise? A bank account has been set up at Metcalf Bank, with my name as well as Amy Dmyterko’s name (she is over the women’s ministry at church) as my accountability partner on all funds. I don’t want anyone to question the uses by just having my name alone on the account. Amy will be over-seeing the account as well. The funds will cover all medical expenses for the trip to China and anything after that will start to cover some of the mounting medical bills here in the United States. If something were to happen to me (passing away) and there is still money in the account, what will happen to it? After all medical bills are paid; the remaining funds will be given to help those in need of help with medical care. These monies will not be available to my family at any time, nor will they have access to the account.

Can you get the therapies and medications without having to include stem cell transplant? No, It all works together, the activation drug cocktail helps prepare the brain for stem cell implantation therefore is not applicable alone. The IV is designed to maximize neural functions in the period before and during implantation and in the period when the cells are absorbed. Those drugs cannot be taken or a regular basis for the purpose of controlling symptoms or holding back the degeneration process. It is true that patients are experiencing symptomatic improvement few days after they begin receiving the IV, and yet, this treatment cannot control symptoms on the long term. The high efficacy of the IV "cocktail" treatment is calculated in relation to the overall success of the treatment (Cocktail of neurotrophic factors and supplements + stem cell implantation). All the drugs that are used inside the IV cocktail are FDA approved drugs which carry absolutely no danger of developing tumors.

What will happen if you don’t get this treatment? Because of the process of this disease, I would continue to become weaker and lose organ functions. Eventually it will take my life, and I will go home to the Lord. Until then, I will continue to seek out for help and treatment. Finding something, anything that will help, if not me, maybe for someone else in the future.

Is it possible that this will not work? Stem cells can provide different relief to patients suffering from different conditions. Some patients experience more improvements than other, but in general, stem cells do not have the option "not to work", simply be less effective in treating certain conditions. It is important to understand that every patient is different, and stem cells implantation has proven to be beneficiary in direct connection to the patient's age, general health condition and the progression of the disease. Although stem cell treatment does not provide a cure, it can provide different levels of improvement to patients.

I will answer more question as I get the answers back from China. Now, I started my therapy at Mid America today, and my therapist and I were talking about China. She said she had a spinal cord injury patient 3 years ago go get this treatment done in China as well. Paralyzed from the waist down, this patient came home walking, she has lost contact with him, but was excited that I am searching out the same treatment.

Please understand that stem cell transplants don't always mean that it is embryonic stem cells. I will not be having anything like that, my treatment will consist of stem cells extracted from the retina of an organ donor. These cells regenerate quickly and have little to no rejection factors and are not based on blood type to be a match. These cells will be mixed with my own that will be extracted via bone marrow upon arrival to China, then mixed with the retinal cells to grow the number needed for each transplant. With each transplant, they will be 'inserting' 5.5 million stem cells back into the spinal fluid during the lumbar puncture, for a total of some 22 million stem cells. Just how do they count them little stinkers?

The silent auction is going very well in gathering donations, so far we have obtained just about everything you can think of. Many valued from $500-$1500. Thank you to all my friends and family who are helping to make this event a success. While we are hosting at Crossroads Chrisian Church, please keep in mind that the Church is not putting on the event or responsible for anything, they are just simply allowing us to use the church facilities for the event. This is open to everyone, so please bring your family and friends, invite your neighbors along for a great night of food, fun and Big Band music with Ray Desmond from Nashville TN.

Blessings to all