REASON FOR TREATMENT:
Kathleen was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1999. She was becoming less and less able to take care of herself. In order to gain more independence in her daily life, Kathleen decided to come to China for stem cell treatment.

DIAGNOSIS: Parkinson's Disease - Hoehn and Yahr scale stage IV
BEGINNING OF TREATMENT: February 18th 2008

TREATMENT: 5 stem cell injections via lumbar puncture + nutritious stem cell cocktail treatment (intravenous).

CONDITION BEFORE THE TREATMENT:
See Videos:
(Taken in the Canada before coming for treatment) off time, on time
before1, before2, before3

Kathleen's main problems were with movement. She suffered from rigidity, especially in her feet, and tremors as well as difficulty moving around. She had trouble using her hands well and for the year before treatment she became more and more dependent on assistance getting out of bed and getting washed and dressed. She sometimes even had trouble eating by herself.
During the periods when her medication was at a low level in her body, Kathleen needed assistance with many of her daily activities like walking and getting out of a chair. She would suffer from cramps, tremors and freeze ups that would make her daily chores difficult, if not impossible. Kathleen could spend about 50% of her day in an off period which meant she basically needed assistance all the time. Her balance was also not very good and even when she was on medication, despite being able to move around a little by herself, her balance failed her at times.
Kathleen complained of her facial expression changing somewhat and her speaking becoming more and more slow. She wasn't able to smile due to her facial muscles cramping up. Kathleen's hands were also cramped up in a claw like position a lot of the time and she had trouble with things like combing her hair and tying her shoelaces.

AFTER THE TREATMENT:
See Videos:
after1, after2, after3

Kathleen started seeing improvements about halfway through the treatment. She had begun to move around more by herself and needed less help going to and from her therapy classes and moving around in the hospital. She could swing her arms and move more smoothly than before. She also had no problem turning on the spot. The speed of her walking had also greatly increased.
She was less rigid and suffered less from tremors. This meant that she was able to get up out of bed by herself and did not need assistance getting up and going to the bathroom at night. Her husband Robert would before have had to get up and roll her over at least a couple of times a night, something she after treatment was able to do completely by herself.
Her fine motor skills had improved and that combined with the lessening tremors meant that she was able to get ready in the morning - get dressed, comb her hair and take a shower by herself. She could even help out with the cooking, something she was unable to do before. Her balance had also greatly improved during her time in China making it easer for her to help out and get around.
Kathleen was also becoming better at speaking. Her speaking was louder and faster than it had been when she arrived. She had no problems taking her shoes on and off. She could also smile again, something she said she had not done for a couple of years.
She was looking forward to getting home and being able to drive again. "Next week she will be able to take her car and go shopping" said Robert as they were getting ready to go back to Canada, "that will make her very happy".