When I first launched this blog on October 27,
2013, many of my friends, colleagues and acquaintances learned for the first
time that I have multiple sclerosis, a disease I have struggled with since 2007. That alone is a big piece of news to
digest.
Bigger still, I piled on additional news with the
word jumble “autologous hematopoieic
stem cell transplant” (HSCT), a procedure I will soon undergo at
Northwestern University in Chicago. Please allow me to define a couple of those
words. Their definition in regard to the type of stem cells involved is important,
and I should have done a better job of defining these words earlier to clarify
that there are no embryonic stem cells involved in HSCT.
AUTOLOGOUS
1: derived from the same individual (me)
2: involving one individual as both donor and
recipient <an autologous stem cell transfusion>
Hematopoietic
refers to organ where blood is formed.
ex. the spongy bone, " a site of the bone where blood is formed" (In
my case, the immune system component of blood, antibodies, lymphocytes and
white blood cells.)
Emotions and Facts
The media has done stems cell science no favors. In
offline conversations, several of my friends, people of faith and science, used
the word “controversy” when referring to stem cells. Online, I have learned
that some people who have already done HSCT try to avoid saying the words “stem
cells” at all, partly because it leads to difficult social situations. I can
understand their reticence. But I believe patients like me must be part of the
solution to an educational problem being grappled with by leaders of both
science and faith institutions, including Northwestern University, the National
Institutes of Health and the Vatican.
Following are two links to demonstrate how
doctors, patients and faith leaders are building bridges of understanding.
After you click the following link, either read the
whole article, or scroll halfway down to read what Dr. Burt had to say at the 2013
Vatican Conference, as well as two of his patients. In December, I will be
another one of Dr. Burt’s patients. Though I am not personally Catholic, I find it very encouraging that the Vatican
is open to listening and learning about stem cell science.
Vatican Conference
Hopes to Promote Truth on Adult Stem Cell Therapy
Following is a
video link to a remarkable young lady who spoke at the 2013 Vatican Conference.
She and her mother describe how horrific disability was stopped and reversed by
the same HSCT procedure I will soon undergo with Dr. Burt. Though her MS attack
started much earlier in life than mine, her MS symptoms and frustrations with
conventional MS drug treatment were very similar to me.
The Purpose of All This for Me
Despite following standard of care MS drug
treatments and suffering their side effects, my MS advanced from a slow
relapsing remitting form to a more rapid aggressive form in June 2013. It put
me in a wheelchair for awhile. After some extreme temporary treatments with steroids and
blood plasma exchanges, my vision and hand coordination has improved and I am
just now starting to ambulate with a cane. This is a very positive indication
that stopping the immune system attacks with chemo will put me on the road to
recovery.
In Chicago, the plan is for my harvested adult stem
cells to be transplanted back to me after chemo wipes out the defective immune
system that is currently attacking my brainstem. In short, MS is trying to cripple
and kill me, so I am turning to fight back and kill it with chemo first. If all
goes well, my stem cells will be transplanted back to quickly rebuild a new
immune system that will no longer attack my central nervous system.
I could not do this without remarkable advances in
technology that will surely become safer and better over time for future
patients. But for me, the time is now. I am putting my life in the hands of Dr.
Burt and his competent staff. I am being afraid and doing it anyway, with great
confidence and faith that this medical adventure will work and give me my life
back.
Thank you all
for your support, well wishes and prayers.
