FALL RIVER: Gerald Elliott has been given the quality of life he once had, thanks to stem cell therapy he underwent to deal with his Muscular Dystrophy. However, he had to go to Mexico to do it.
Elliott, of Fall River, had the therapy performed at the International Stem Cell Institute (ISCI)-run Integra Medical Centre, in Mexico. Within 36 hours of the operation he was feeling much better and began to see improvements. He says he was able to do things with more ease, things he had struggled with before the therapy.
Elliott started to notice something was wrong about five years ago when he began to have difficulty getting off the garage floor from working on one of his vehicles. In early 2007, Elliott’s family doctor noticed something wrong with his CK blood level. The level was high and neither knew why.
That’s when he was sent to a specialist in Dartmouth to see what was wrong. There, they did some tests, including a muscle biopsy. In June, 2007, they called him in and informed him he had Muscular Dystrophy. Elliott was informed he had a type of MD called Becker’s.
According to Wikipedia, Becker muscular dystrophy (also known as benign pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy) is an X-linked recessive inherited disorder characterized by slowly progressive muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis.
It generally starts to affect people in their 30s and it’s very rare it affects people in their 60s, like Elliott. It’s an inherited disease through the mother and that’s how Elliott got it.
For Elliott, the disease affected his legs. To ensure it wasn’t affecting his heart, they sent him for more tests.
“From that point on, the illness progressed steadily,” Elliott said. “My walk is very slow. My wife said it was like the speed of a two-year-old child. Climbing up the stairs was very, very difficult, I basically had to pull myself up the stairs and I had a very wide stance going up them to keep my balance because there was no muscle strength left.”
During the past three years when he walked, he would always have to use a cane to ensure balance and steadiness.
“My balance just kept getting worse and worse,” he added.
When he went to the doctors to see what could be done, Elliott was given some options, but none involved stem cell therapy. Currently, the therapy he did receive in Mexico is still being researched in Canada and the United States and as a result isn’t approved for use.
“The options I did receive were steroids and drugs,” he said. “I refused to take steroids. Their side affects are terrible in most cases. I figured I would tough it out.”
At that point, Elliott figured he had about 10 years before he would be bound to a wheelchair due to the medical condition. It also resulted in a decision-making time for him and his wife as to whether they move out of their two-storey home, at the corner of Fall River Road and Richardson Avenue.
“It progressed so quickly we thought we might have to move out of here to a one-level house,” Elliott explained.
In August, Elliott’s sister was doing some research on possible options to help him deal and maybe find a solution to his problem. While online, she discovered the stem cell therapy option.
“We found the stem cell institute based in the U.S.,” he said. ‘I contacted them and had a chat. I then filled out their patient registration and history form and sent it off to them in September. They replied saying I was a prime candidate for it, so I scheduled an appointment.”
That sealed the appointment date of Nov. 3, for the operation.
“There was no hesitation to go and get it done,” Elliott said. “I just knew I had to get it.
The unfortunate part is there’s no stem cell therapy available in Canada or the U.S., that’s why I had to go to Mexico.”
Elliott and his wife flew out of Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Oct. 31, to Toronto. Early on Nov. 1, they flew from Toronto to Houston and then took another flight to McAllen, TX., where they rented a vehicle and did some touring around Nov.2, before heading to New Progresso, Mexico, for the treatment.
The couple were on their way home on Nov. 4, staying overnight in Houston, before boarding a plane for Toronto then connecting with a flight to Halifax, arriving home about supper time on Nov. 5.
“They asked me about what I expected form the procedure,” he said. “They wouldn’t give me any guarantees. I said to them first of all I would like to see it slow down, second see it stopped and thirdly I would like to see it reverse itself. Those were my expectations.”
For the operation, Elliott was under aesthetician and didn’t feel any of the six incisions being made, which included two in his back and chest and one in thigh and calf.
On its’ website, www.istemcelli.com, the ISCI explains it has ethically provided Stem Cell treatments to patients from around the world for more than 18 years specifically administering Placental Stem Cells for health enhancement and recovery. ISCI adheres to strict international medical standards offering cutting edge medicine in a professional manner which is most cost-effective.
To date, more than 3,000 patients of a variety of ages have safely experienced the regenerative qualities of Placental Stem Cell Therapy for Anti-Aging benefits and a wide variety of conditions and disease processes on a convenient out-patient basis.
“Every patient receives the highest quality treatment by an experienced physician that is highly credentialed and impressive in mainstream medicine anywhere in the world,” the website explains
For Elliott, evidence of the treatment doing its job was clear on the return trip home.
“We were seeing it working,” he said. “It was incredible, incredible for everybody.
“I expected to see some results a week to 10 days after the treatment, but within 36 hours seeing it work, it was fantastic.”
Elliott detailed a story showing the struggles he has had. On their way to Mexico he had to pull himself and get assistance to get in and out of a van. The next morning, after treatment, he was able to do it himself.
“I was able to do it on my own, with a lot less effort,” he said. “We couldn’t believe the difference between the day before and the morning we were leaving. When we were walking I could keep up with my wife, not very fast whereas before she would have to wait for me.
“I can see slow, steady progression toward improvement everyday.”
Elliott’s operation wasn’t easy on the pocketbook. It cost him approximately $10,000 for the therapy, plus another $2,000 for the travel. He’s looking to help out others that may need similar treatment to what he received. The money for Elliott’s treatment was available through his family, however the travelling wasn’t but that’s where his road-racing friends from Atlantic Motorsport Park, in Shubenacadie, came in. One driver donated 50,000 air miles towards Elliott’s flight and another raised $1,000.
“I would recommend this to other people,” he said. “The way I look at the stem cell therapy and its treatment is not really revolutionary. It’s been around for quite some time in Europe and Mexico. There have been so many success stories. I don’t doubt there are stories on the negative impact like it hasn’t worked or had adverse side affects, but I haven’t heard any yet.”
Another example of the treatment helping Elliott was climbing a staircase with two books in his hands, something he hasn’t been able to do for quite sometime. However, on days when it’s wet or raining, he doesn’t see much improvement.
“I can feel it (when the weather is bad),” Elliott said.
But to avoid the wintry and bad weather that Nova Scotia usually sees during the winter, Elliott and his wife are heading off to Florida where the warmth should help his progress even more.
“Last winter was really bad, it was hard,” Elliott said.
As for how the stem cells affect him on a daily basis that could vary. He is unsure if he will require anymore treatment.
“Each patient is different,” he said. “It could make me feel good for six months, a year, or 10 years. It’s given me a much better quality of life then what I had before.”
He is being used as a volunteer patient advocate for the institute to bring awareness of the treatment that is available to other people who may need it.
“I’ve told them if anyone needs to talk to have them call me,” he added.
He has already done a before video and is now working on the after effects of the treatment, which will be made available to several different groups, such as Autism, Multiple Sclerosis and Muscular Dystrophy.
“We will then be able to give the video to anyone who wants to see whether it be government or the public,” he said.
Elliott doesn’t just hope things are better, he knows it. Whether it’s taking walks down his stairs, around his yard and even working on a new baby barn in his backyard, he can see he has part of his life back.
“My wife says the treatment has made a tremendous difference physically in me, however mentally she’d say I’m still an idiot,” he said.
With Canada and the U.S. not allowing treatment for the disease, Elliott said he will be pushing to see that this treatment becomes available for every Canadian that needs it. Those discussions have already included talks on the topic with District 2 (Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank) Councillor Barry Dalrymple, the office of area NDP MLA Percy Paris and Sackville-Eastern Shore NDP MP Peter Stoffer.
“I’ve looked into the research that Canada has done to date and as far as I can tell they’re at the mouse stage, trying to rejuvenate mice to get them to walk,” he said. ‘Why are they trying to reinvent the wheel? I really don’t understand that because it’s been successful in a lot of countries. We’re going to work on that and see if we can get things changed here.”
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com