REASON FOR TREATMENT: Ritha is a lively and active woman who loves to travel, entertain and play golf. About ten years ago, she noticed a change in her voice and her balance. These symptoms were joined by others and gradually got worse. Years later and after all manner of examinations, she was diagnosed with the rare disorder Cortico Basal Degeneration or CBD. In order to increase her quality of life and improve some of her symptoms, she came to China for stem cell treatment.
BEGINNING OF TREATMENT: October 8th, 2008
TREATMENT: 4 stem cell injections via lumbar puncture + nutritious stem cell cocktail treatment (intravenous).
CONDITION BEFORE THE TREATMENT:
When Ritha came to China, she was still able to walk but generally used a walker for assistance. Her balance was effected by her illness and she had trouble walking in a straight line. While walking, her feet would move in circles when she walked making her stride unstable and crooked. Other major movements like getting up from a chair, getting out of bed or turning over in bed were also difficult, taking time and needing assistance.
Ritha's speech was also effected by her illness, she would speak with a slur and had to constantly think about slowing down her speech in order for people around her to understand what she was saying and for her to be able to pronounce words clearly.
Balance was one of Ritha's major issues; she always walked with a walker while outdoors and had fallen down seriously several times. Her doctors at home stressed the importance of using a walker or a banister at all times when walking so that she would not fall. Her balance was also effected by the fact that her toes curled inwards towards the base of her feet because of her CBD.
Small actions like tying a lace or picking up a button from the floor was also hard for Ritha, she would fumble and her fine motor skills would fail. Ritha was also unable to tilt her head backwards as her neck was too stiff.
AFTER THE TREATMENT:
See Videos: after1, after2, after3
Ritha began to feel better about halfway through her stay. She was able to tilt her head backwards all the way, something she was not able to do before. She also noticed that her fingers had become more nimble, enabling her to tie laces and button clothes more easily. She noticed that her handwriting was more fluent and clear and that she was using her hands more quickly and naturally.
Her toes had uncurled and her husband Per noticed that she was walking with a more confident stride and with less circular movements in her legs. Ritha's son noticed that she was able to coordinate her movements better while she was talking and that her movements were more natural than they were before. People who talked to Ritha also thought her speech had improved somewhat.
Although Ritha found the treatment tough, she was happy and optimistic at the end of her stay. Her husband Per said, "even if she doesn't improve and can just stay like this, it would be fantastic".
Email update December 1st:
"I have begun phoning my friends and they ALL say my speech is better, great!"
With Dr. Han
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