Tony's Page~Eighth Anniversary

coast

Year 8

The First Years of the Stem Cell Journey

On July 21st, 2008 Dr. Fredda provided me 5 million progenitor/mesenchymal stem cells harvested from umbilical cord blood.

This was miracle for me. I had prayed a lot about this and it was amazing that I was able to get the cells. They were a gift from God.

In March 2009, I got another 12 million progenitor/mesenchymal cells. The hard thing about stem cells is being patient and waiting for them to do all they need to do. They repair damage tissue and also grow new tissue. Hopefully in about 9 to 12 months I can get a MRI and they should see new lung tissue growth.

Today is August 12th, 2009 and I haven't seen any marked improvement. After our move from the big house to the townhouse, I had sold all my exercise equipment as we did not see that we would have any room for it.

Well I gained a lot of weight and knew I had to get the extra weight off. I need to loose 60 pounds. It is almost impossible to walk outside as my pulse dose regulator will not give me enough supplemental oxygen to do so. I am on 4.5 lpm (liters per minute) at rest now and exercise takes at least 6. From March to December my FEV1 went from 25% to 31%...This is FANTASTIC!

I am down to 3lpm at rest and only require 4 lpm to exercise. I got a treadmill. I exercise 6 days a week. 30 minutes on the treadmill at 2mph and I lift weights 6 days a week. I have lost 34 pounds since March. I feel much better and things are really looking up.

Year 9

The year started the wrong way. Woke up New Years morning about 3AM with serious chills and at 7:30AM checked temp and it was 104 deg;. I popped a couple of Tylenol and went back to bed with extra covers. At 11:00AM temp was down to 100 deg;. Much better. If I had called in to my transplant coordinator at 7:30AM I would have been headed for ER right then and very possibly have been admitted to the hospital for a few days at least. But my fever stayed down and I called in to my transplant coordinator on the 12th and got chewed out big time for not calling her sooner. I went in the next day for x-ray, blood work and a spirometery and all looked ok except my white cell count was 16,000 indicating some kind of infection. Spirometery (lung function) was ok.

I am supposed to get more stem cells soon but have to get rid of this bug first. Went on 1750mg Amoxiclav for 14 days. That should kill any bugs that I might have including the great African Elephant Beetle!!! My stem cell transplant will be a much larger dose this time and will be progenitor cells only. I am extremely excited and waiting for this blessing. I look so forward to being off supplemental oxygen support.

I did speak with my transplant doctor this visit and we were very honest and he told me I would not be a good candidate for another transplant due to multiple factors so stem cells are my best hope for longevity. My transplant doctor did not say not to get the stem cells but he also said as a doctor he could not recommend it as they have not been proven or approved by the FDA for human treatment in lung conditions. He did state that he could neither recommend nor refute any data with regards to the efficacy of stem cells. He stated it is certainly a promising therapy for many diseases, but at this point is unproven in properly conducted clinical trials. He further stated, "Mr. Hamel is certainly free to try this therapy should he deem it necessary."

Well for me it's a no brainer. What do I have to loose. I have gone 5 years past prognosis for a single lung transplant and am not a candidate for another transplant. So stem cells are my choice for my life. God willing it will be a long and fulfilling life.

Year 9 will be another page coming soon after I receive the new stem cells in January or February 2010.

God Bless and always remember to
Keep On Keepin' On
Tony in Dallas

Mountain