| Help Dan Heal... | Dan's Blog |
This is a site dedicated to helping Dan Maughan achieve his goal of full recovery. Dan was injured in an auto-pedstrian accident in January 1986. He sustained a severe brainstem contusion which has limited his ability to walk and speak intelligibly. This is his story...
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The Accident (miracles do happen) The Journey (living life to the fullest - even with a disability) The Ascent (still looking for full recovery - after all these years!) |
| The Procedure |
Stem Cell Treatment in China.
We are always on the look-out for medical advances that will help Dan achieve a full recovery. We live with a hope that someday, somewhere, something will be developed to cure Dan. This comes from the core belief that Dan will be fully healed at some point during his life. Our challenge has been to wait for that day to come.... We were out of town over Christmas break when the news came through our area of a local family that would be traveling to China for stem cell treatment for their daughter (prayfortori) We missed this story and were unaware of this possibility for Dan. After the holidays, a friend approached me at work and told me about Tori. He said that he thought of Dan when the story was aired and wondered if I had looked into it. I had not, but immediately went to work to research the matter. Come to find out, I knew Tori's dad – Tim – when he worked at Novell, and I was excited to contact them and learn more of their experience. After much research and follow up with two institutes in China (Bieke Biotech and Tiantan Puhua Hospital), we chose to go to Tiantan Puhua Hospital primarily due to their expertise as a neurology center. They offer the option of “Self Stem Cell Activation and Proliferation Program” which is an injection of drugs / hormones that stimulate the body's ability to generate its own stem cells. Dan will be receiving this therapy in addition to the stem cell treatment. Dan and LaNae have chosen to receive treatment using adult BONE MARROW STEM CELLS. The doctors will operate on Dan and remove some bone marrow (most likely from the hip area). The stem cells from this operation will then be sent to the lab at Beijing University where they will undergo an 'expansion' process. During this time the cells are put in a growth factor in a lab setting and allowed to multiply or expand. At the same time, the stem cells are treated with the necessary hormones to help them differentiate into neurons. After a 30-day period, there will be enough stem cells to inject back into Dan. This will be done via a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) procedure. The benefit of using bone marrow stem cells as opposed to other types of stem cells is that the risk of rejection is eliminated due to the fact that they are Dan's own tissue. The other positive aspect of the “China adventure” is that the hospitals there take a holistic approach to healing. In addition to the stem cell treatment, Dan will receive rigorous therapy, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. The entire procedure will take approximately eight weeks to complete. |
That which does not kill you, will make you stronger.