hey Rich:

good luck for your new therapy, could you also put link to ruth's story, I had tried alternative treatment in India and my pain in leg is totally gone. I believe in all those medicines, lot of luck for your new therapy.

Asha

hi asha...go to www.chinaconnection.cc

it's worth a visit!

Sounds great!! :Clap-Hands:

How will you know which therapy - stem cell or acupuncture - benefits you the most?

Just wondering. You're doing great.

Good luck, I'll be tuned in for updates, wish I was able to get that kind of treatments but my budget won't allow. Sounds great!

hi sharon...i assure you that if/when i achieve the recovery that i envision, i will not be burdened by the question you are presenting!!

hi fred...i hear what you are saying...unfortunately it often costs us dearly to get well...i could create an entire blog just on that topic...i'm choosing to drain this money out of my savings to now do another therapy that i believe will help me completely recover...this is a huge decision for me not without sacrifice...however i'm willing to do whatever will help me to recover from this stroke...the next step on my path is definately leading me to china...

Sharon,

i think that's a great observation..one in which many here i'm guessing are wondering..

Rich

We are all following your progress.. I'm sure it's of little consequence to you how you improve just as along as it happens. I think those of us like Sharon are inquisitive because we may or may not choose to look into a particular therapy depending how it appears to work. Otherwise why bother to report.

Good Luck and please keep us posted.

Tom

hi tom...it's nice to see a post from you again...you were the first person to respond to me when i was a newbie not so long ago...it meant a lot to feel heard and welcomed in this great org of ours...i shall remember to do the same for someone else!

in no way did i mean to imply that it's of little consequence to me how i get better as long as i do get better...

if this were the case i would not be dedicated to reporting to everone who has interest all the personal details of the challenging healing journeys i'm choosing to undertake...this latest choice involves leaving my home and all of my loved ones for 3 or 4 months...this will cost me in many different ways i assure you... however, i firmly believe that international therapies offer the best possible clinical recovery to stroke survivors here in the great us of a...this said, it is definately challenging to differentiate the efficacy of each and every therapy i've been treated for...i do not have a solution for this quagmire, if it is in fact a quagmire for anyone...i often wonder myself exactly how much has all the acupuncture that i've had helped me??... would i have healed anyway??...would i not have the results i have today had i not received all of those sessions??...valid questions for sure, but who among us has the accurate and definitive answers??...the most striking returns i've had thusfar was seeing my toes flex a few hours after the second dose of stem cells that i received back in july...shortly after this i experienced a return of dorsiflexion in my affected foot followed by extension in my affected wrist...i believe that these results which are all current today were linked to the sc treatment...but 100% linked??...was it 75% linked??...50%...??...i can't answer...and no one else can either...i am not burdened by these unanswered questions tho i am keenly curious about them both personally and professionally...but furthermore and most importantly there will always be unanswered questions...they will not deter my quest for healing...9 months after the most devastating event in my life, i find myself grateful for the returns that i have experienced thusfar through my dogged determination to do whatever i can to heal...i will continue to share my experiences and interpretations with these foreign therapies with anyone who shares my interest...best to all...richxxx

Hi Rich

I apologize for being so direct and sounding so blunt. Mainly because this is your blog and it's for most anything you wish to write, share or report about. I guess you earlier comments struck me funny this AM.

I'm sure you know it, but if not, willlingly or not, you have become the "posterchild' here for SC treatment and notwithstanding your own thoughts about it, your recovery is extremely important to me and many others for obvious reasons. Whether or not a quagmire has been created as far as differentiating the effects of the various therapies you've elected to undergo is for someone way beyond me to determine. I was alway wondering myself just how much recovery you're getting normally over time from the event. And as you rightfully concluded, what difference does it make as long as you get some.

So Rich, I just really want to say, that I think what ever direction you take for your therapy; God's speed and a little luck be with you.

Tom

Rich,

Before you go to China, couldn't you get your physical therapist to do some precise testing and measuring so that when you come home you/they can do the same? That way, you'd have something concrete to pass on here that could help others, should they want to consider this journey. It would be good for you to have this knowledge also. I know therapists can do this type of testing for insurance companies to doucment improvements or lack there of.

Jean

Hi Rich. I am excited for you and to hear of more progress.

Are the therapies mainly for "physical" recoverry. Do you know if the therapies work on "cognitive issues"

As always wishing you the VERY best in your recovery process. I'm always excited to read your Blogs and hear of your progress.

I am hoping at some point "soon" US will catch up nad look at some of these "alternatives" as options for those of us who do not have the finacial capability to pursue them.

Thanks so much. I know you are reporting your progress as accurately as you can. And I totally understand.. what ever works go for it! If it is a combination of many therapies and your "terrific attitude what ever works is GREAT!

Warmly, Bonnie

hi bonnie!...check out www.chinaconnection.cc ...ruth lycke experienced significant speech improvement 2 1/2 - 3 years post stroke...she also had serious vision issues (double vision affecting her balance) that completely cleared up during her stay in china...this clinic is about healing everything the good old fashioned way by working with the body using centuries old technics that have been producing prodigious results for centuries...our health care system is designed largely by insurace companies...powerful corporations keenly interested in generating profits...if the hospital i am going to in china were available here i have no doubt that it would cost 6 or 7 times what i am paying over there...i read some exciting news today about stem cell progress...a british company is applying to the FDA to proceed with human trials of stroke survivors by applying fetal stem cells directly into the damaged areas of the brain where they will do wonders in replicating the neural tissue and returning function and movement!...exciting exciting stuff!...nothing can stop scientific progress!...future stroke survivors shall someday have effective treatment options to alleviate some or possibly all of the hell most of us have experienced...godspeed i say...!!!!...i am thinking of your wonderful pic as i type these words bonnie...i wish you and yours a merry xmas and all best thruout '07...richxxx

I think the cost is really reasonable. Compare it to a three month inpatient stay at a rehab hospital in the US! Also, accupuncture alone with a skilled stroke accupuncturist costs $375 per treatment in Phoenix. I am excited for you Rich and looking forward to the blogs. PLUS - we will keep you in our thoughts and send you all the positive energy we can muster. Is it like the Kiev facility where you can have a family member or accompanying person stay with you?

My husband is going for accupunture here and the person treating him just returned from spending two weeks in a stroke center in China. He said for the treatments to be effective, you need to come in daily like in China, not the once a week treatments we have here.

hi...yes i'll have a private room with 2 beds...i will look forward to visits!...in china these doctors study for years and years if they want to specialize in stroke rehab...the program is a minimum stay of 90 days with the possibility of extending it...my acupuncturist here is well aware of this hospital...he'll be going there this month to visit his uncle who is recovering from a stroke...he enthusiastically recommended it for me...he's also a neurologist...and the only neurologist who i've listened to since my stroke back in february...i'll be bloggin' away over there...