For the first time in 5 years, Andy felt warmth spreading throughout his legs. He strained to look at his blanket covered legs; somehow he pushed the blanket off and felt the cool air brushing against his feet. “Well might as well try it…”, Andy thought and tried moving his toes. One of the toes on his right leg twitched. Andy hoped that he was awake and that everything wasn’t some crazy anaesthetic induced dream. He pinched himself. “Ow…! That hurt..”, he told himself. “Jen….Jen…you there anywhere?..”, he shouted. The door opened, and his wife Jennifer walked in. “I think my toe moved”, Andy said with tears in his eyes as he tried moving his toes again. Jennifer cried and cried while still smiling. The floodgates of a dam had suddenly opened, the pain and suffering of 5 long years erupted. They cried, in each other’s arms like little children.
5 years ago:
It was just like any other day in Iraq. Captain Andrew Symmonds of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment was in the lead vehicle of a convoy of 6 vehicles, on a routine patrol mission, 45kms from the city of Basra which was completely under coalition control by t hen. The only warning that they got was when an RPG shell hit the second hummer in the convoy. Everything happened fast. Barrages of bullets were exchanged. Andy was hit by two bullets, one near the groin and one on his right shoulder; he remembered falling down while still aiming and firing. The Jehadi with the RPG launcher on his shoulder was shot dead by Andy before he could fire the next grenade. Soon the M16 rifles of the coalition soldiers drowned out the AK47’s of the insurgents. The loss of blood from the gunshot wounds soon caused Andy to lose consciousness. He remembered waking up in a military hospital ward in Basra; his abdomen, lower back, and shoulders wrapped in bandages, with no sensation in his legs.
The doctor told him that the first bullet had grazed his spinal cord narrowly missing some of the vital organs and that he was lucky to live. The bad news was that he had lost total control of the lower half of his body. He was paralysed totally waist down. He was awarded the ‘Purple Heart’ for his efforts and flown home. He should have been married 6 months before; the assault on Iraq had delayed the wedding plans. When the bullet grazed his spine, 2 lives went down in a tailspin, his own and that of his fiancée. Jen had prayed hard for his safe return; Andy had returned, but not in the way she had hoped. Andy had told her to forget him. He was half a vegetable, he couldn’t walk or run, he couldn’t control his bladder and he couldn’t make love. He didn’t want to ruin her life; the only good thing that he could do was to let her go. All the memories of the long hiking trips and late night dances and bedroom romps just brought more and more pain.
The first few months were the worst; depression had set in, he had even contemplated suicide. After all half a life isn’t worth living to some people; paralysis is a fate worse than death. Sometimes he even cursed the Iraqi insurgent for his aim, condemning him to a life of eternal suffering and embarrassment; a few inches or so and it would have been so peaceful. A Captain in the army, a man used to leading his company into the battlefield without fear, now had his mother and nurse lift him to the bathroom every time he wanted to go. He needed someone to help him put on trousers; the simplest of truggles activities became huge struggles. Life had made a tough man like him cry like a baby. He had lost all hope; but Jen hadn’t. She had urged him to fight on, begging him to move on with life. Love is a strange thing. Jen married Andy knowing fully aware that marital bliss in the conventional sense would never happen. She had urged him to visit many of the specialists on the East Coast. Slowly they adjusted to a different sort of life. By then they had lost all hope of Andy walking again; the only thing that they could do was adjust.
Extensive physiotherapy and MRI scans were conducted and numerous consultations were made, but of no use. The problem is that nerve cells do not have the extensive regeneration capabilities as normal human cells, with the capability decreasing progressively as one ages. Spinal cord injury has stages to it; partial recovery occurs after a few weeks, with some reflexes working, but gradually the recovered reflexes degenerate completely. After 3 and half years, life became more routine. She moved her job of interior designing to their home to take care of Andy. Andy looked after the running of the clothes stores that the family owned. One of the family friends had suggested stem cell treatment. Stem cell research is regulated in many countries because of the moral issue involved in how the stem cells are obtained; embryonic stem cells can only be obtained by killing the live embryo. Stem cells have the capability to differentiate into a diverse variety of cells. They are like ‘god cells’ from which any cell could be theoretically cultivated.
Beike Biotech of the People’s Republic of China is one of the few establishments worldwide to have commenced treating patients using stem cells. In the People’s Republic of China, the end justifies the means. Andrew and Jennifer flew to the headquarters of the company in Shenzhen. After all they had nothing to lose; they had already lost everything. Over the years they had saved enough money for the procedure. The surgery was conducted shortly; umbilical cord stem cell transplants were done, along with administering Nerve Growth Factor Transfusions. The surgery was over in 3 short hours.
Present Time:
Jennifer had prayed hard every day for the past 5 years for Andrew; each day hoping a miracle would happen. She had willingly accepted the life of a nun for him. She hoped that the treatment would work. All throughout the surgery she was pacing outside the theatre. They had shifted her sedated husband to a hospital room for resting. Jen had dozed off as well outside the room. She was dreaming of a warm spring day, holding Andy’s hand and walking in the park; it was a happy dream. The sound of Andy calling her name jolted her from her sleep. She had rushed into the room. She saw him moving his toes; she had started crying helplessly then. Jen realized that her dream could come true….
A year later after continued physiotherapy, Andy stood up and walked for the first time. Slowly he gained control over the lower half of his body. The struggle had brought them closer and made their relationship stronger. Controversy still rages on regarding stem cell transplants, with some arguing that benefits are only short term. Only time will tell……………
5 years ago:
It was just like any other day in Iraq. Captain Andrew Symmonds of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment was in the lead vehicle of a convoy of 6 vehicles, on a routine patrol mission, 45kms from the city of Basra which was completely under coalition control by t hen. The only warning that they got was when an RPG shell hit the second hummer in the convoy. Everything happened fast. Barrages of bullets were exchanged. Andy was hit by two bullets, one near the groin and one on his right shoulder; he remembered falling down while still aiming and firing. The Jehadi with the RPG launcher on his shoulder was shot dead by Andy before he could fire the next grenade. Soon the M16 rifles of the coalition soldiers drowned out the AK47’s of the insurgents. The loss of blood from the gunshot wounds soon caused Andy to lose consciousness. He remembered waking up in a military hospital ward in Basra; his abdomen, lower back, and shoulders wrapped in bandages, with no sensation in his legs.
The doctor told him that the first bullet had grazed his spinal cord narrowly missing some of the vital organs and that he was lucky to live. The bad news was that he had lost total control of the lower half of his body. He was paralysed totally waist down. He was awarded the ‘Purple Heart’ for his efforts and flown home. He should have been married 6 months before; the assault on Iraq had delayed the wedding plans. When the bullet grazed his spine, 2 lives went down in a tailspin, his own and that of his fiancée. Jen had prayed hard for his safe return; Andy had returned, but not in the way she had hoped. Andy had told her to forget him. He was half a vegetable, he couldn’t walk or run, he couldn’t control his bladder and he couldn’t make love. He didn’t want to ruin her life; the only good thing that he could do was to let her go. All the memories of the long hiking trips and late night dances and bedroom romps just brought more and more pain.
The first few months were the worst; depression had set in, he had even contemplated suicide. After all half a life isn’t worth living to some people; paralysis is a fate worse than death. Sometimes he even cursed the Iraqi insurgent for his aim, condemning him to a life of eternal suffering and embarrassment; a few inches or so and it would have been so peaceful. A Captain in the army, a man used to leading his company into the battlefield without fear, now had his mother and nurse lift him to the bathroom every time he wanted to go. He needed someone to help him put on trousers; the simplest of truggles activities became huge struggles. Life had made a tough man like him cry like a baby. He had lost all hope; but Jen hadn’t. She had urged him to fight on, begging him to move on with life. Love is a strange thing. Jen married Andy knowing fully aware that marital bliss in the conventional sense would never happen. She had urged him to visit many of the specialists on the East Coast. Slowly they adjusted to a different sort of life. By then they had lost all hope of Andy walking again; the only thing that they could do was adjust.
Extensive physiotherapy and MRI scans were conducted and numerous consultations were made, but of no use. The problem is that nerve cells do not have the extensive regeneration capabilities as normal human cells, with the capability decreasing progressively as one ages. Spinal cord injury has stages to it; partial recovery occurs after a few weeks, with some reflexes working, but gradually the recovered reflexes degenerate completely. After 3 and half years, life became more routine. She moved her job of interior designing to their home to take care of Andy. Andy looked after the running of the clothes stores that the family owned. One of the family friends had suggested stem cell treatment. Stem cell research is regulated in many countries because of the moral issue involved in how the stem cells are obtained; embryonic stem cells can only be obtained by killing the live embryo. Stem cells have the capability to differentiate into a diverse variety of cells. They are like ‘god cells’ from which any cell could be theoretically cultivated.
Beike Biotech of the People’s Republic of China is one of the few establishments worldwide to have commenced treating patients using stem cells. In the People’s Republic of China, the end justifies the means. Andrew and Jennifer flew to the headquarters of the company in Shenzhen. After all they had nothing to lose; they had already lost everything. Over the years they had saved enough money for the procedure. The surgery was conducted shortly; umbilical cord stem cell transplants were done, along with administering Nerve Growth Factor Transfusions. The surgery was over in 3 short hours.
Present Time:
Jennifer had prayed hard every day for the past 5 years for Andrew; each day hoping a miracle would happen. She had willingly accepted the life of a nun for him. She hoped that the treatment would work. All throughout the surgery she was pacing outside the theatre. They had shifted her sedated husband to a hospital room for resting. Jen had dozed off as well outside the room. She was dreaming of a warm spring day, holding Andy’s hand and walking in the park; it was a happy dream. The sound of Andy calling her name jolted her from her sleep. She had rushed into the room. She saw him moving his toes; she had started crying helplessly then. Jen realized that her dream could come true….
A year later after continued physiotherapy, Andy stood up and walked for the first time. Slowly he gained control over the lower half of his body. The struggle had brought them closer and made their relationship stronger. Controversy still rages on regarding stem cell transplants, with some arguing that benefits are only short term. Only time will tell……………
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