Holiday Season

I just want to start out by telling everybody happy holidays from the entire Smith family. It's hard to believe we are nearing the end of another year. With Thanksgiving down and Christmas right around the corner, It's amazing at how fast a year comes and goes. It's been three months since our return from our second stem cell trip and my last blog update. Talk about dropping the ball on that one. I tell you it's hard to make yourself do stuff sometimes even though I know that it needs to be done. Like updating my blog and letting everybody know about my progress and my plans for the future.
As soon as I returned home from India it was back to work. I still work out three times a week with my trainers, use the direct current electric stimulus, the FES bike daily, autoambulator gait trainer once a week, asnd have also added standing daily in my leg calipers with the use of my new pair of parallel bars. I have been pretty consistent with all of my workouts, but again sometimes find myself having a hard time getting motivated to make myself do what I know needs to be done. The progress that I have shown has been steady, but nothing that has been really earth shattering. My strength continues to increase in every area, some areas faster than others. There are a few things I have discovered I am able to do though that are pretty amazing. While sitting in my shower/commode chair I am able to draw both my legs in towards each other. I noticed it about a month ago and practice it every night while in the shower. It seems to be getting stronger. Also while do this I actually can feel the muscles in my legs tightening and contracting. This sensation b is relatively new. I noticed recently that I have been getting some good finger movement. This probably do to all the hand writing I have been having to do with in my college class. So, some real good positive stuff going on. On the negative side lets tall UTI's. I have been living with one for the past two months. I have taken every antibiotic you can think of, and two weeks ago was the sickest I have been since my accident. It has been a real battle and really am sick and tired of feeling like crap all the time. We are planning another trip back to India for the middle of February. We feel like the progress has been good and that this treatment gives me the best chance for recovery. That's it for now. As always I will try to be more prompt with the updates. Talk to you soon.

Good Procedure-Great Procedure

It's been a busy, procedure filled third week over here at the clinic. Last Wednesday they decided to go with the caudal procedure. This procedure is done on site here at the clinic, which is nice because once you get settled in here it's kind of like your home away from home. The crappy part about this procedure was where the injection goes in at. The injection goes right into the coccyx area. Right in this area is where I have been experiencing bad nerve pain as well as some regained sensation. As soon as he stuck the needle in I knew I was in for a little trouble. The initial pain was as you can imagine. It felt exactly like someone stabbing you at the top of the crack of your butt with a giant needle. Just like any shot though the pain eased away. He gave me the injection, patched me up, and sent me back to my room to lay flat on my back for four hours. The first three hours went by without a problem. I took a nap for an hour or so, and starred at the ceiling. Just like always. What else are you supposed to do for four hours on your back. The pain hit right at seven o'clock. It felt like someone was digging a hot poker in right where he gave the injection. So, if you can imagine that felt great. We informed the doc of my "situation" and waited for his orders. Luckily they allowed me to turn me to my side which did very little for my problem. The source of my pain was coming from stimulated nerve endings in that area. Just getting the pressure off that area wasn't even a close fix. They then popped me with some pain medication which helped a little. Like I said nerve pain is different than other pain, and it is hard to treat it with the same methods. The next couple days continued slowly regressing. Like I said, I was already having problems in this area. Nothing like a good old shot of stem cells right in the butt to get the nerve endings firing like crazy. Other than that, the procedure was great. Ha Ha Ha

My next procedure was the following Monday. This would be a double procedure. I would be getting a lumbar puncture and at the same time they would be inserting another epidural catheter for three days. This is obviously the most serious of all the procedures. The lumbar puncture is where they go directly into your spinal cord. Patients usually have the most problems with procedure. Problems meaning that sometimes bad headaches or problems with high blood pressure occur. The procedure went very well as always. He gave me the lumbar puncture and than the catheter was inserted. Once I was back in my is where I started to have some difficulties. I started sweating pretty heavy in the face and body started getting very warm. I started getting anxious and this just made matters worse. They came in and checked my blood pressure. It had rose to 140 over 110. This is what was causing the sweating and the body temperature increase. We started getting a little nervous until doctor Ashish came in and described how this was very normal and not to worry. It was very reassuring to my father and I seeing how calm doctor Ashish was. He gave me an injection for my anxiety and ten minutes later I was napping. I woke up and felt a ton better. The excitement came on Wednesday morning when doctor Ashish gave me my last dose of stem cells. The sensation I started receiving five minutes after my injection was incredible. It started as a light tingling sensation in my lower back. The sensation made it's way down both of my legs into my toes. By the time it had reached my toes the tingling sensation had turned into an strong electric current feeling. This is all great , but I have experienced this before. The real cool part was still to come. The tingling sensation than worked it's way up my back, into my shoulders, and down both my arms into my fingers. This I have never experienced. What's so great about this is that it means the stem cells stimulated nerves which reach throughout my whole body. A connection has been made, or nerves repaired to be able to send that kind of a signal. The really cool thing is that the sensation lasted for about forty-five minutes. The longest it's ever lasted is about ten minutes. This kind of sensation is exactly what the doctors are striving for. My reaction to the procedure had made every body's day. This kind of outcome is what you would call "best case scenario." There is still a lot more to tell but I will leave you at that.

Steady Progress

It was kind of an interesting week we had. I was supposed to go over for a procedure on Monday morning. Well, they ran a few tests early that morning, blood work and urine, and of course i had a urinary track infection. This is something I am always battling due to the catheter I have. So, in order to speed up the process of eliminating the infection it was decided that changing my cath would be a good idea. Well, to make a long story short, there ended up being a few technical difficulties. A lot of blood started showing up in my urine. The doctors here at the clinic got the bleeding to stop. It was then that they decided that it would probably be a good idea that I be taken to a hospital and kept overnight for observation. An ambulance was called and i was transported to Max Healthcare hospital. I stayed there over night having no other issues. The next afternoon we had another ambulance take me to the guatam nagar hospital where i would be receiving my procedure starting on Wednesday.

So, Wednesday afternoon I was taken into the operating theatre to receive my EC procedure. Just a couple days being schedule but no worries. When you have problems you have to deal with them and put them behind you. The EC procedure (epidural catheter) went very well as usual. Dr. Ashish is very steady and very precise. The catheter is inserted around the eleventh thoracic vertebrae and is ran up the epidural space stopping near the fifth or sixth thoracic vertebrae. Once inserted it is time to flood the are with millions of stem cells. I received to injections on Wednesday, two on Thursday, and a double dosage in the a.m. on Friday. I was very pleased on Wednesday when i received my first dosage of cells. If you can recall from my last trip every time i received an injection of cells I would get a real heavy and tight feeling in my stomach. Well, this time the sensation worked it's way down lower into my groin region, butt, and legs. My overall sensation has improved, mostly from the waist down. I am also happy to report that I am able to push the urine from my bladder on my own. Now, all I have to do is train the other muscle that gives you the ability to hold urine in and I am catheter free. How wonderful would that be. I a scheduled to receive another procedure on Wednesday so I will be in touch. Lots of love to my family and friends. See you all soon.

Back in India

It's been about four months since my last post. Everything has been going well with my rehab. I am still putting in lots of hours every week with physical therapy, hand cycling, and electric stimulus. As always though the hard work has been paying off. I have continued to see improvements in all areas. My strength, sensation, and mobility have all increased. Also, I have continued to notice more activity in my lower limbs. The strength and muscle control is redeveloping from my feet up to my hips. This remember is still a very slow process, but my family and I have been very pleased with my progress. This is why we decided to make another trip back to India. My father and i arrived Tuesday evening of this week. All the traveling went well and as planned. We are very happy to be back at NuTech Mediworld Clinic. We are scheduled to stay one month this trip. I started therapy on Thursday and was informed by the doctors that I would be having my first procedure on Monday. After all the success we had on the last trip are expectations are very high. I will keep everybody informed of my progress and will do my best to describe the experience.

This is where we did a lot of our shopping for paper plates, salad dressings and other things of that nature.

The three of us with Surrender. Surrender plays a big part in how smoothly the clinic runs.

A few of the sisters that help take care of me.

Rawat and I doing yoga. Rawat and I did personal sessions in my room. He also led a class that my father and fred attended three nights a week.

Back Home

I guess everybody is kind of wondering what happened us. Did we make it home? Are we being held captive somewhere in India or did we decide that we liked it so much over there we decided to just stay. Well, the truth of the matter is we made it home March 3rd as planned. Once again we were blessed with safe travels and no problems. What a wonderful feeling it was to be greeted by our families at the airport. Three months is a long time to be gone anywhere.

I guess this would be a good time to mention a few things about Nutech Mediworld Clinic and the entire staff that makes your stay an unforgettable one. It starts the minute you arrive at the clinic. You are instantly surrounded by people who want to help you reach your goal of recovery. Everyone there goes out of there way to make your stay a comfortable one and I believe that is very important in order for you to have a successful trip. You always need to feel comfortable in your surroundings. All the sisters (nurses) are very professional and do and excellent job. They are always in a good mood and are eager to help you however they can. The physical therapy I received was top notch. Doctors were all very accessible and never to busy for the patient. They were all easy to talk to and willing to answer any questions you had. You really just can't say enough about NuTech Mediworld.

As far as my improvements anybody who has kept up with my blog knows what I mean when I say improvements. I believe my sensation is better from head to toe. I have had a number of muscles come back online and begin working again. My balance is better. I gained muscle strength in all the muscles that were working before the treatment. My hands started working as well. It was a very exciting and successful trip. Since I've been back home it has been back to work with all my other training. No new noticed improvements but will see what happens and keep everybody posted. Lucas

Procedures, Procedures, Procedures

Boy, it seems like the closer I get to coming home the lazier I get about posting my blogs. Well, in my defense I at least have a couple of excuses that have kept me from my computer for the past week. Not saying that justifies me not writing in over two weeks but maybe it cuts me a little slack. Both of my problems I encountered happened around the same time. Around the beginning of last week I noticed my butt getting real sore while sitting in my wheelchair. It took us a couple of days to figure out that the gel cushion that I sit on had worn out. So until we received my spare cushion that my mom had shipped i pretty much was restricted to my bed other than getting up and going to my therapy. Also during this time i managed to pick up another UTI. (urinary track infection) So, in order to get rid of the infection I was placed on more antibiotics which were administered intravenously. It makes it kind of hard to type when you have an I.V. sticking out of the top of one of your hands. Okay that's enough whining for now I guess. My new seat cushion arrived on Monday and they took the I.V. out today so, all better now.

When you travel 8,000 thousand miles to receive stem cells you try not to let those minor problems get to you. "Adapt and Overcome" my dad would say quoting John Wayne, so that's just what we did. It definitely has not slowed us down that's for sure. Since my lastblog I have received four different procedures. Two Thursdays ago I received my lumbar procedure. This is the procedure where they shoot the stem cells right into your spinal cord. I have to say that during this procedure I had the most intense sensation i have had yet throughout all my procedures. Dr Ashish's point of penetration was at T-7, my seventh thoracic vertebrae. Once he inserted the needle into my spinal cord and started shooting the stem cells to me the intense sensation that hit the lower half of my body was overwhelming. From my waist down it felt as if a massive amount of energy was flowing so powerfully that when it reached my toes I thought it was going to blow them right off my feet. What a scary feeling. It's hard to describe it but hopefully that gives you a descent mental picture. If you want a better picture try sticking your toes into a light socket. Ha Ha Ha. That lasted for about five minutes and finally it wore off. like I've said before, what a rush!!! Lets see the following Wednesday I received a deep spinal muscle procedure and this week On Tuesday I went to the other hospital for a three day catheter epidural procedure and also received another lumbar procedure as well. I'm gonna steal a line from a good friend of mine named Linc Klinge. That procedure right there is what you call a "Dubba Smacka Dabba." It turned out to be a very successful procedure at that. For the first time while Dr. Ashish was injecting the stem cells through the catheter I received pressure in my shoulders and into my neck which means the stem cells have worked their way through the scar tissue at the injury site. Dr. Ahish was very happy with the outcome, and when Dr. Ashish is happy I am happy as well because I have total confidence in him. So as you can see we have been very busy over here. They have been loading me up pretty heavy. It's not that I have stopped making progress, but I did kind of start to plain out a bit. Like I said I am still making progress. Last week in therapy I stood the best I have yet. The strength is still increasing, so like I said the progress is still there. It's just not as noticeable as before. Also, we will be returning home in what eighteen days. How about that. So, the final push is on. Get them stem cells in me so when I get home and get to work the progress continues. That's the great thing about these stem cells is you are supposed to see more progress once you get home and give the stem cells time to work. So, I got that going for me which is nice. I can't wait to get home and see all my family and friends who have supported me and helped get me through this trip. Once again I can't thank Fred enough for all he has done and his family for loaning him out to me. Of course my parents are my rock, my heroes, my saviors. I would be lost without them. I miss my brother and of course my sister. I can't hardly wait to see you all. That's gonna be it for now. I will see everyone real soon. Lucas

Epidural Procedure

Talk about getting a little lazy. I can't even remember the last time I posted a blog. So, let me get started where I left off. It seems like with every week something new with my body starts working again. After my deep spinal procedure I received two Mondays ago both of my thumbs started moving on my hands. This started happening the Wednesday of that week. Now when i say started moving you have to remember it is a very slow process. You see, once you getting a muscle group back, like the one in your hand that moves your thumb, you have to strengthen it next. Remember I haven't moved them in almost two years. As of now it takes me about thirty seconds to my my thumb a couple inches. Not exactly ready to be entered into any thumb war competitions just yet, but it's progress. My other fingers are getting stronger with each new day as well. I think before long i will be able to make a fist again so everybody better watch out.

The following Monday I was supposed to have another procedure. This being the big daddy of all procedures, the lumbar. This is where they go directly into the spinal cord around your injury level. This unfortunately didn't get to go as planned. I picked up a small infection and the procedure was postponed. They put me on some antibiotics and rescheduled for Wednesday. Tuesday they tested me again and the infection was still present. The oral antibiotics had cut the infection in half, but the doctors weren't satisfied. They of course want my body in perfect shape before they do a procedure. So, they switched from oral antibiotics to intravenous and postponed till Thursday. You see where this is going so to make a long story short i didn't get cleared for the procedure till late Friday so I received the procedure Saturday. We transferred to the other hospital under the influence that I would be receiving the lumbar procedure and staying overnight. Once over to the other hospital and in the operating theatre Dr. Ashish informed me that we would be doing an epidural procedure instead of the lumbar. This due to the fact that it had been to long since my last procedure. No worries though. I still received millions of stem cells into the epidural area. This procedure only required me to stay in bed flat on my back for the afternoon and I was able to come back to the clinic that evening. I will be receiving the lumbar procedure on Thursday or Friday of this week. So, maybe I will get back on track with my blogging and give you an update this weekend. Sorry for the laziness. Lucas

More Procedures More Progress

Another week has come and gone. It's hard to believe that we have been here for almost six weeks already. Time always seems to find away of flying bye unless of course you are sitting there starring at a clock and then it finds away of standing still. Sometimes the afternoons seem to last forever but it helps with the nice weather and being able to get outside and take in some sun. On most days the temperature reaches somewhere around sixty-five to seventy degrees with the sun shinning. There have only been a handful of days where it has been cloudy with cooler temperatures. It's always easier to be in a good mood when the weather is nice, at least that is my opinion. The three of us are still getting along great. No arguing and bickering between us. Yes, even between my father and me. I'm sure all the progress that I've made and am still making has played a big role in the trip going so smooth.

I know it has been over a week since my last blog so let me bring you up to date on my progress. All during last week what I noticed the most would be my increased over all strength. Starting with my hands all the way down to my hips, these muscles have all gotten stronger. This all being very crucial in order for me to be able to support myself while I practice my standing and walking in between the parallel bars. On Wednesday morning Dr. Shroff came by the room for a short visit to check up on progress. We inquired about maybe being able to do more physical therapy. Not that we weren't happy with the physical therapy that we were getting, but just wanting to do as much and work as hard as we can. So, she said she would talk to my therapist Dipen and they would arrange for me to have three sessions per day instead of two. So now my physio schedule is table work from nine until ten in the morning. Standing and walking at eleven and lasting about thirty to forty-five minutes, and then my afternoon session is at two to two-thirty where I work on sitting balance and upper body. I like the new schedule and find my body more exhausted afterwards. Another question we had for her was when she thought my next procedure would be. She explained that it would take place on Monday. This of course put a giant smile on my face because I am always anxious to see the results that will take place after a procedure. By the end of the week I was wore slick and ready for some rest.

Saturday I did absolutely nothing. Of course I had my usual Sat. morning physio that lasts from nine until ten fifteen but the rest of the day I took off. Sitting around watching television being kind of lazy felt kind of good. This would probably be why I am so behind with my blog. I apologize for my tardiness. Sunday we slept in till around nine, which felt good, but once up were eager to get ready and head out for the afternoon. Our first stop was to the All American Grill. It was pretty cool set up like a diner from the 1950's. We all three ordered breakfast and were pretty satisfied. The pancakes needed a little work but it was alright. After lunch we headed to market called Dali Haat. Here you can find pretty much anything you want to purchase. From jewlerly, scarves, artwork, and so on,with over 175 different vendors it's not hard to find something to buy. After that we headed back to the clinic wanting to get to bed early that way I would be rested for my procedure on Monday.

Monday morning they came in and notified me that my procedure would be done here at the clinic, which was kind of a relief because having to transfer to the other hospital is a hassle like i mentioned. So I got in bed and prepared myself for the procedure. Around ten forty-five they came with the gurney and took me into the operation theatre. They transferred me to the operating table and placed me on my side. As before they crunched me into the fetal position with my chin pressed down into my chest. Once into this position Dr. Ashish prepared the injection site. This time the injections would be up in the neck around the injury site. He would be making two injections into the deep spinal muscles that surround the spinal cord. With the first injection I felt a heavy stinging sensation which only lasted a few minutes. The second injection I received little or no sensation. The whole procedure lasted little over fifteen minutes. As soon as it was over I was taken back to my room where i had to lay flat on my back for an hour. It was a pretty simple procedure.

Since the procedure on Monday I have already noticed a few changes. The strength in my core muscles have improved., My tricep strength has increased. I have gotten back better finger movement. Hips are stronger. I can feel the stretch in my aductor muscle on the inside of my thigh. I am starting to get a little movement from my hamstrings. Everything just keeps getting stronger. It's definitely a great feeling making all this progress. Also, today i was just informed that I would be having another procedure on Monday. Might as well keep the ball rolling while going is good. Lets get as many stem cells in there working as possible. Well, that's it for now. Sorry for being so late. I will kept you updated. Lucas

Dr. Ashish preparing to inject 50,000,000 stem cells into my body.

Successful Procedure

Well, I made it. Scratch that. We made it!!! My first major procedure went just about as smooth as you could possibly imagine. It's kind of a hassle but with my Father and uncle Fred on the job there's always nothing to worry about and let me tell you that is a huge relief when you are stuck depending on other people to take care of you. I consider myself very lucky.
Now, the hassle isn't really the procedure, but having to switch hospitals to have it done. We currently stay at the clinic here at Green Park. It is the newer of the two facilities opened little over a year ago. The old hospital, where most of the most of the major procedures are done, is a couple miles down the road in the Guatam Nagar area. We arrived at the other hospital by taxi around eleven thirty Monday morning. The first thing you notice when you arrive at the old hospital is exactly how old it really is. I kid you not it looks like it came out of an old 1945 movie. Not to worry though, just as I expected everything running like a well-oiled machine. It took us fifteen to twenty minutes to get settled into the room, by the time we were done the sisters were there ready to get me preped for my procedure. Around one o'clock they came with the gurney to take me to the operating theatre. We entered the theatre where we were met by Dr. Ashish. They transferred me onto the operating table and placed me onto my side. Once on my side they tucked my knees as high up to my chin as possible placing me into the fetal position. During this whole process i am focused on my breathing trying to prepare my body for the arrival of my new stem cells. The procedure consists of Dr. Ashish inserting a very small catheter in the thoracic region. He then runs it up the spinal cord canal in between the sheath that holds the spinal cord and the bony part of the vertebrae. Once in place here come the stem cells. 50,000,000 million new stem cells are injected into my body and hopefully are in route to the injury site. As the stem cells are injected into my body new sensations happen immediately. A tightness and heavy feeling surround my mid section making it hard to breath. A crawling, tingly feeling works it way down through my legs into my toes. I try not to panic as the tightness increases in my stomach making it even harder to breath. During the whole procedure Dr. Ashish is explaining the whole process very calmly and asking me about the changes as they are happening. He assures me that this is all normal and explains everything is going as planned. He is confident and sincere which is very reassuring. I have total confidence in him. The whole procedure only last about fifteen minutes. Before I know it they have me turned onto my back and transferred back onto the gurney. The tight heavy feeling in my stomach starts to decrease letting me breath more normal. The whole not being able to breath very well kind of catches you off guard at first sending you into a slight panic, but other than that piece of cake. So, back to my room and into bed where I must lay flat on my back with no movement for two hours. Also, they come and put three blocks under the foot of my bed in order to incline it. This hopefully forces the stem cells to flow upward toward my injury level. For the next thirty minutes I have different sensations changing throughout the lower half of my body. I have tightness in the hips, tingling in the legs and toes but eventually all the new sensations fade. The next two days goes just about the same way. I get a morning injection of 50,000,000 stem cells and an evening dose of stem cells. The only difference is the position they have me laying during the injection and the two hour period afterwards. With every injection new sensations come and they go. The most exciting coming on Tuesday evenings injection. I was laying on my right side, of course blocks under the foot of the bed inclining it, and while I was receiving the injection I got a real heavy feeling in my head with lots of pressure creating a huge headache. It only lasted for fifteen to twenty seconds but what a feeling. I understand normally you wouldn't get that excited about receiving this sort of headache, but what this means is that the stem cells made it through the injured part of my spinal cord and into my brain. What a rush!!! Wednesday I received a double dose of the stem cells around lunch that way after laying flat for the two hours we were able to pack up and head back to the clinic.
Thursday came and i was very eager to get down to physical therapy to work out and see if I could notice any improvements. Yes, I know it well take time for the cells to work and grow but with all the early success I've had it is easy to get spoiled. I am happy to report more new improvements. My core muscles, which include stomach, side, and back, have gotten stronger making my balance better. Better strength in my triceps and wrist flexors. hips have strengthen and hand movement has increased a little. So far I would say a successful procedure. The doctors said we would give this procedure time to runs it course and we could expect the next procedure in about ten days.
Everything has been going so well and we all have been working so hard we decided to treat ourselves today and go out to eat. So, today for lunch we headed to the Hyatt Hotel, a five star accommodation, in search of beef. Big mistake. What we stumbled into was a beautiful hotel, with five restaurants, including one that was a buffet. Ouch!!! Let me just say the damage was substantial. Beef tenderloin, grilled prawns, fried fish, stuffed pork loin, cesar salad. The works. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the cheesecake and the chocolate eclairs. What a great meal to end a great week. My belly's full and hands are getting week so I think that's it for now. Talk to you all soon. Lucas