Patient Reported Outcome – Jeff
In October of 2018, I received AMBROSE Cell Therapy. I had many issues that were significant negatively impacting my quality of life and severely limiting the activities that I most enjoyed. My story, beginning with a freak desert-racing vehicle accident and the adverse effects of two surgeries that followed it, is unusually complex. I am glad I was not told I could expect the degree of improvement in my symptoms, function, and quality of life that I have received from the cell therapy. If so, I would have said it sounded “too good to be true,” and moved on.
Today, 14 months later, I am actually more active than before I sustained the injuries from the accident and surgeries. The chronic 10-point pain, as well as the other symptoms, that I endured prior to being treated with my own fat-derived stem cells are, in all honesty, hard for me to remember at this point. I want to share my story so others can have hope and benefit by it.
In December of 2017, I was driving my desert-sand race car at 150 MPH when the windshield blew out and hit me in the head. What started out to be head and neck pain led to what I had only thought would be my worst nightmare: Spinal cord injury and paralysis from a 10-hour spinal fusion surgery gone wrong. But the nightmare only got worse: My bowels stopped functioning for 10 days post the fusion. This led to a painful and infected colon requiring another surgery, in which 40% of my colon was removed. It is almost impossible to catalog all of the symptoms and dysfunction I experienced as a result of trauma from the accident, spinal cord injury from the fusion and pain in the surgical site – which I called my “blowhole” – from the ileostomy (colon surgery).
But I am a fighter. With constant love and support from my amazing wife, Shantal, family and friends, I was able to regain my ability to walk – with the assistance of canes and 4-AP, a multiple sclerosis drug. However, following my release from the hospital (up until the time of my stem cell treatment):
- I had such severe and constant pain that I was taking 4-6 oxycontin pills per day.
- I took baclofen daily to treat muscle spasms from my butt and stomach, extending into my legs.
- To manage my chronic inflammation, I was popping 2000 milligrams of ibuprofen daily.
- Unrelated to spinal cord injury, I was also taking metformin to control my diabetes type 2 – which was not particularly well-controlled.
In addition to all of that, I could not lift my arms above my shoulders, had sexual dysfunction, difficulty moving my bowels, and urinated 4-5 times per night. I also had constant “buzzing” down my legs and into my feet plus had diabetic “claw toes” (Charcot’s foot). As I said earlier, I was living with a very complex set of factors – but I was determined to get better.
This led me to look for a new option – and stem cell therapy kept coming up on my radar screen. The internet has a lot of useful data as well as misinformation and hype on the subject of stem cells. I did not know how to determine which providers were creditable. I was naturally cautious about doing something experimental, particularly with what I had been through the previous 10 months. I had just survived a life-threatening accident and two surgeries on the one hand, but was still partially crippled, in severe pain and discomfort on the other. I knew being dependent on numerous medications would be bad for me in the long run. All of these concerns were professionally and responsibly addressed after the doctor I trusted most introduced me to AMBROSE’s CEO, Matt Feshbach in September of 2018.
It went like this: AMBROSE has a rigorous patient education and clearance process. They were quick to provide me with a summary of the published stem cell research and trials that supported the safety and potential effectiveness of the treatment. Medical records were reviewed, and I had consults with several of the AMBROSE doctors to both educate me, as well as ensure I met the safety criteria for the procedure. I also received the required clearance for the procedure from my primary care doctor.
Only after all boxes were checked, I scheduled and was treated on October 2, 2018. The personalized AMBROSE protocol was incredibly comprehensive. It included an IV infusion of my own stem cells that had been separated from my fat. I also received many, precisely targeted injections of purified fat (in which the stem and regenerative cells remained intact in the tissue). These were to address my blowhole pain, the buzzing, claw toes as well as back, neck, and hip pain, and so on.
Some 14 months later, I no longer take any meds of any kind – zero. I walk without the need for sticks. My sex life is excellent. It took several months for the blowhole pain to subside – it now never gets above a 2 and, I often don’t even experience any. The buzzing is limited to my feet and tolerable. I have no more hip pain but do have some back pain. I suspect that is due to the hardware from the fusion – even still it is bearable. I now have full range of motion in both shoulders, sleep great and have resumed normal bodily functions – no more getting up 4-5 times per night or struggling to move my bowels. I work out daily, which is both a benefit of stem cells and contributes to my extraordinary outcome.
What is most important to me? I am doing what I couldn’t do before my stem cell treatment – and more. It began with being able to drive myself and the independence that gave me. Way beyond that, I have learned to fly helicopters, scuba dive, and have resumed racing in the desert. I know the last sounds crazy – perhaps all of it does considering where I came from. And that is why I wanted to communicate my benefits to others. These videos tell the story better than I can do in writing.
I would like to thank Dr. David Patterson for referring me to AMBROSE, the great medical team that treated me. I would recommend AMBROSE Cell Therapy to my family, friends and others because I know what it did for me.
