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OPINION: Stem Cell Therapy — How I Became a Patient Advocate
The author has had a progressive neuro-muscular disorder since childhood. He got stem cell therapy in 2010. He wasn’t cured but he became a patient advocate.
In 2010, I went to Nanjing, China for stem cell therapy (SCT). I have absolutely no regrets.
The therapy was to treat a debilitating, progressive neuro-muscular disorder I’d had since childhood. The condition had progressed to the point where my walking was unsteady and my swallowing was no longer functioning properly.
Two years prior, I had to endure the emotional and physical ordeal of having a feeding tube inserted into my stomach. At the time I was completing my Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. I detail my experience here. [Editor’s note: I highly recommend that you read Rahman’s extraordinary essay. It provides valuable background for this OP-ED.]
Determined to find a cure
Although neurologists told me there was nothing I could do but manage my condition, I was determined to find a cure. I began researching various emerging medical modalities and ran across SCT.
After studying the academic literature, I emailed some of the papers’ authors for their…
