In September 1998 my father and I went to South Africa to go and meet Dr Ramero and Dr Ramirez from Mexico so that they could evaluate my MRI scan and x-rays to see if I was a candidate for the blue shark embryo cell injections. Thank goodness I was a candidate...the thought of my dream coming a step closer was great as well having the fear of the unknown at the same time. I was advised that because I was so young I should try the injections without having surgery for the meantime because if I had had surgery it was likely that I would have to have more surgery at a later stage as my body was going to grow and change.
In October 1999 I had my first injection. I tried the treatment for eight months, but did not have much success. Dr Ramirez felt that there was something stopping the regrowth of my spinal cord such as a cyst or scar tissue. He said that I needed to be re-examined. At the beginning of 2001 I had more x-rays and another MRI scan in preparation for a visit from my doctor (which did not happen due to Dr Ramirez having visa problems). These showed that my C4 vertebrae had collapsed and was putting pressure on my spinal cord. Dr Ramirez said that it was essential for me to go to Mexico for surgery as this was life threatening. After much fundraising and preparation we left for Mexico at the beginning of July 2001.
When we arrived in Los Angeles we were picked up by a man called Harry (a complete stranger) who had been contacted by someone from Zimbabwe who took us to stay in a convent called "Little Sisters of the Poor", where he was living that was run by nuns. This was very generous of them as the accommodation was wonderful with lots of food and we were not charged anything. After spending a few days resting we met Dr Ramirez in San Diego where I underwent some evaluations. In the next two weeks I had two operations. The first one was to release the pressure on my spinal cord and the second was to remove scar tissue from my neck, put in a titanium plate and implant some embryo cells on my spinal cord. In my first operation they found a cyst that was stopping the regrowth of my spinal cord. After my surgery I had slight improved sensation down my back.
The next two months I spent most of my time in bed in the hotel doing physio and electro stimulation or going to the clinic for my injections. After these two very long months we returned home. At this stage I was very thin and highly unmotivated with a very big bed sore! (this was due to not eating properly in Mexico). It took me three months of bed rest to even be interested in myself and to get rid of my bedsore. Throughout this time I was having injections with physio and having slight improvement in sensation.
After about eight months of improvement I came to a stage where it levelled out and after being on the treatment for a year I stopped having my injections as I felt that I was wasting money as I was not having any more improvement. This brings me to today where I want to dedicate my time to my physical rehabilitation.