Monica walking out of airport to greet family & friends. Mitch (18), Monica (15) and Kevin (17)
Where do I begin? After a considerable amount of deliberation, Monica and I have returned home. I was torn because I FINALLY found a place that offered Monica not only the possibility of healing, but a place that was actually healing her. My mission has been to do anything and everything to get her well and now that I found the place I didn't want to leave. Monica was torn because she loved the staff and patients at NuTech along with watching herself make progress in her ability to walk, however she really missed her family, friends and pets. With stem cell therapy your body reaches a point where your "cup" is full and it is time to go home and let the cells have time to do their work. Our cup was full. We will again return in March for a six week "booster" and then probably one or two more times.
Monica's stem cells are the miracle inside repairing, regenerating, and replenishing everything in her body to fight the Lyme disease and her own disease. Now at home she has to treat herself special because the stem cells need to grow and develop based on how she trains and nutures them. Progress will continue to happen over time while we are home.
Monica made incredible improvements in a remarkably short period of time:
1. She now sweats - she is not particularly thrilled with this - but I sure am!
2. She has begun to sleep longer. I would always try to have our lights out, computer off, and her iPod music on really "low" (her low and my low are very different even with my ear plugs in) at midnight. I would pass out immediately and we would wake up at 9:40am everyday by Ajo's smiling face (the male nurse). I was getting great sleep which made me think she was sleeping just as long. She absolutely would disagree with me on how long she slept, but at least the lights were out!
3. She moves in her bed. Now this may not seem like a big deal, but with no sensory input when the room is dark and her eyes are closed she never moved in her bed. The position she fell asleep in was exactly the same when she woke up. A couple weeks into therapy I realized that she was moving in her sleep!
4. She is able to crawl forward and backwards. She scooted around the house on her butt for the past seven months (with her feet in front so her pants wouldn't be pulled off). We have a two story home and her room is upstairs in the furthest corner. Monica was not willing to move to the downstairs bedroom and not willing to have any accommodations made to her living space. In the bathroom we did take the glass shower door off and put up a curtain, but that was the only change she was agreeable to. Watching her in physio get stronger and stronger and finally be able to balance herself and crawl on the physio bed five motions forward and then five motions backwards was amazing!
5. She is stronger physically - balance, coordination, strength, stamina. Monica's upper body strength has always impressed me. She was able to effortlessly transfer her body weight anywhere. She would lift her body up, holding onto the handles in my Suburban truck, and place her body in the seat of the truck. However, I felt an urgency to get to India because my fear was that she would not be able to use her arms much longer due to the progression of her illness. Well to see Monica work so hard at absolutely everything they asked of her was so rewarding to me. She became stronger in all areas and fearless in trying to do the exercises. Her balance originally was awful. She easily tipped and if you watched her sit in a position she would slowly tip over if she had to hold it. Now her core is stronger and able to support her better!
6. MONICA CAN WALK! Yippppeeeee Skiiippppppeeee!!! The most amazing part of this whole journey has been to see the work, discipline, focus and dedication Monica has put in to be able to walk out of NuTech. As you all know she has been working tirelessly to be able to stand and then walk in calipers. She was able to go from one huge caliper - metal going all the way up the hips and then a large plastic piece that went around the waist to metal knee braces and plastic ankle braces. She planned on going home in the knee braces.
Monica's stem cells are the miracle inside repairing, regenerating, and replenishing everything in her body to fight the Lyme disease and her own disease. Now at home she has to treat herself special because the stem cells need to grow and develop based on how she trains and nutures them. Progress will continue to happen over time while we are home.
Monica made incredible improvements in a remarkably short period of time:
1. She now sweats - she is not particularly thrilled with this - but I sure am!
2. She has begun to sleep longer. I would always try to have our lights out, computer off, and her iPod music on really "low" (her low and my low are very different even with my ear plugs in) at midnight. I would pass out immediately and we would wake up at 9:40am everyday by Ajo's smiling face (the male nurse). I was getting great sleep which made me think she was sleeping just as long. She absolutely would disagree with me on how long she slept, but at least the lights were out!
3. She moves in her bed. Now this may not seem like a big deal, but with no sensory input when the room is dark and her eyes are closed she never moved in her bed. The position she fell asleep in was exactly the same when she woke up. A couple weeks into therapy I realized that she was moving in her sleep!
4. She is able to crawl forward and backwards. She scooted around the house on her butt for the past seven months (with her feet in front so her pants wouldn't be pulled off). We have a two story home and her room is upstairs in the furthest corner. Monica was not willing to move to the downstairs bedroom and not willing to have any accommodations made to her living space. In the bathroom we did take the glass shower door off and put up a curtain, but that was the only change she was agreeable to. Watching her in physio get stronger and stronger and finally be able to balance herself and crawl on the physio bed five motions forward and then five motions backwards was amazing!
5. She is stronger physically - balance, coordination, strength, stamina. Monica's upper body strength has always impressed me. She was able to effortlessly transfer her body weight anywhere. She would lift her body up, holding onto the handles in my Suburban truck, and place her body in the seat of the truck. However, I felt an urgency to get to India because my fear was that she would not be able to use her arms much longer due to the progression of her illness. Well to see Monica work so hard at absolutely everything they asked of her was so rewarding to me. She became stronger in all areas and fearless in trying to do the exercises. Her balance originally was awful. She easily tipped and if you watched her sit in a position she would slowly tip over if she had to hold it. Now her core is stronger and able to support her better!
6. MONICA CAN WALK! Yippppeeeee Skiiippppppeeee!!! The most amazing part of this whole journey has been to see the work, discipline, focus and dedication Monica has put in to be able to walk out of NuTech. As you all know she has been working tirelessly to be able to stand and then walk in calipers. She was able to go from one huge caliper - metal going all the way up the hips and then a large plastic piece that went around the waist to metal knee braces and plastic ankle braces. She planned on going home in the knee braces.
During our exit interview (the afternoon before we left), Dr. Shroff told Monica that she expected her to be able to walk without calipers on her own holding onto someone by December 15th and then by Christmas she should be walking on her own. Sitting in that interview was fun because I knew that Monica wanted to see if she could walk on her own right then without any support. Monica had never practiced on her own let alone stand without any support. However, once she decided she could do it I just knew she could. She is remarkable. Well, Dr. Shroff said she would absolutely help her and ordered a walker to be brought to her office so that Monica could try. By the time the walker arrived in her office (which was immediately) Monica was up standing all by herself. Dr. Shroff taught her how to use the walker and Monica took off. Within fifteen minutes Monica had gone from not being able to stand without support devices to walking without anyone or anything helping her! Dr. Shroff excitedly called down to physio to not let anyone leave because Monica wanted to surprise everyone. It was such a thrilling moment, as her mother, to watch her WALK across the room all by herself so proudly. Everyone was cheering and crying. A very emotional moment for Monica, myself, Dr. Shroff and everyone else who has been a part of getting her better.
There have been some side affects from the treatment: her vision is blurrier and her throat is more constricted. Time and stem cells should heal these. We all have to assume that so much more of Monica's body has been healing during this treatment. She has not regained any of her sensory yet. The doctors are hopeful that this will occur sometime in the next few months as her nerves continue to repair themselves. I can barely stand it waiting to see what she feels first. Obviously she deserves to eat, smell, feel some pleasurable sensation first and that is what I pray for.
We arrived home (without seizures or the "claws" on the airplane - that shows she is healing) using the wheelchair. Dr. Shroff ordered a walker and cane for us that day so we would have them to use to see our family at the airport. With a wheelchair, the airport always has an individual assigned to you to push the chair around. Our gentleman was wonderful. I told him our plan and he got us all ready. We got Monica up and walking down the hall using her walker where family can see you on a monitor before you walk out the gate. You could hear them cheering. Fifteen people greeted her screaming.
Monica was really slow walking out of the airport that day. Today, a week later, she is not using the walker at all, uses the cane for long distances, and usually doesn't have anything to help her but her own two legs! She is walking into stores on her own, walking around town on her own, and has even gone to the beach and walked in the sand on her own. I am so excited that she has gained the confidence again that her body will support her and allow her to go where she wants, when she wants.
We will continue to update our blog to let you know how Monica is doing. I am so excited for the future. EVERYTHING feels different now. I believe we turned a corner and only good things are going to happen from now on. There is no looking back, just forward to a better and healthier new life for my girl.
There have been some side affects from the treatment: her vision is blurrier and her throat is more constricted. Time and stem cells should heal these. We all have to assume that so much more of Monica's body has been healing during this treatment. She has not regained any of her sensory yet. The doctors are hopeful that this will occur sometime in the next few months as her nerves continue to repair themselves. I can barely stand it waiting to see what she feels first. Obviously she deserves to eat, smell, feel some pleasurable sensation first and that is what I pray for.
We arrived home (without seizures or the "claws" on the airplane - that shows she is healing) using the wheelchair. Dr. Shroff ordered a walker and cane for us that day so we would have them to use to see our family at the airport. With a wheelchair, the airport always has an individual assigned to you to push the chair around. Our gentleman was wonderful. I told him our plan and he got us all ready. We got Monica up and walking down the hall using her walker where family can see you on a monitor before you walk out the gate. You could hear them cheering. Fifteen people greeted her screaming.
Monica was really slow walking out of the airport that day. Today, a week later, she is not using the walker at all, uses the cane for long distances, and usually doesn't have anything to help her but her own two legs! She is walking into stores on her own, walking around town on her own, and has even gone to the beach and walked in the sand on her own. I am so excited that she has gained the confidence again that her body will support her and allow her to go where she wants, when she wants.
We will continue to update our blog to let you know how Monica is doing. I am so excited for the future. EVERYTHING feels different now. I believe we turned a corner and only good things are going to happen from now on. There is no looking back, just forward to a better and healthier new life for my girl.
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