As many people before me have experienced having a 3 day procedure as part of the treatment course here, I have now completed the same, in order to receive a large mass of stem cells directly into the spinal cord. Its not an easy thing on the body (there are affects which can make one's body feel tired, put pressure on, cause pain, headaches, nausea, etc). Along with these affects come possibilities of infection due to the fact that a catheter being inserted into your spinal and left there for three days. Therefore, continuous antibiotics are pumped into your body to reduce the risks. People may or may not be aware that small changes placed on one's body can make major changes.... well these procedures make major changes on one's body in a matter of 3 days.
Once the intial insertion of the catheter is completed and the initial injection of stem cells are injected I was brought back to my room to lay on my back with my feet raised 2 bricks up off the ground while my head is sloped downward for 5 hours. This is the toughest part because your patience is tested to sit still in bed while the blood rushes down to your head.
During the 3 days, you are given two injections of stem cells into the catheter and in my case it was 50 million stem cells at each injection. The first one was with me on my back, the second was with me laying on my right side, then left side, then on my stomach and finally my choice of on my back again. (the reasons for these positionings are a little more detailed than what i want to write about but you can ask me later if you wish to really know). Before each injection you are given antibiotics....
During this time in the older hospital i was not allowed to leave the hospital for obvious reasons. Therefore, another challenge of this procedure is to keep one's self occuppied.... so i brought a book, watched movies and slepted of course. Having my friend around to talk to and have assistance is essential!! Thanks Erikk....
Of course, Geeta's staff are great and are constantly taking care of you and providing the best of care. Ashish Verma is a brilliant man who is a great anesthesiologist and takes no risks when it comes to treating his patient's. Not only does he have great skills and many years of practice he is a warm, compassionate man who is dedicated to his patient's and HESC treatment. I placed my body in their care with no doubts..... I had no thoughts of any anxiety towards concern with mal-treatment with someone like Ashish. Some people, including myself may have experienced other encounters with other health professionals where there are doubts about the competence of the physician treating them... in this case, there were none.
To tell you a bit about what feelings of changes that occurred during the injections over the 3 days, i will attempt to describe them....
The sensations varied but generally there were feelings of heaviness, spasms, contractions of my bladder, and tinglings from T5 (nipple line) right down to my toes. The feelings weren't the same each time the injections occurred. For myself, the most significant feelings came during the injections when i was laying on my back and i would get spasms that pushed on my ribs and constricted my breathing, pushed on my abdomen, and created heaviness on my legs all the way down to my toes. To me, this was a bizarre feeling and had never occurred to me since being injured. This is my proof that the stem cells are working.... The feelings would only last for a few minutes and therefore my breathing was not compromised.
I think that physical changes my take a day or two come out and be realised. However, i am finding already after less than one day that i am feeling that my core is contracting and i am able to sit with more stability and for a longer period time. I also found at physio today that my quadriceps are contracting with some limited movement when i am trying to push out my leg when bent at a 90 degree angle when Vardana held my leg. At the same time my bladder is contracting constantly and then I have to pee a short time later. Unfortunately, I still can't control it....
For me, this was a challenging 3 days and i was very fatigued after this procedure. At the same time i felt like i just got out of jail as i can't stand being confined for any length of time! Going back to the new hospital has its bad and good aspects and in some way it felt good to be back !
Now we wait to see what changes will occur??.....
Today i did two parts of physio right after returning and it wasnt too bad. I did feel that i struggled a bit with fatigue but it was glad to be on my feet and expending energy and not laying around on a bed for 3 days!!!!!!! Below are some photos to show you what the injections looked like:
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