Reverend Mike Rumble, the Dilated Cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure patient who improved his heart function and quality of life after the Vescell Adult Stem Cell therapy, is now celebrating his "1 Year Stem Cell Treatment Anniversary."
We last featured Mike in March showing that his ejection fraction had gone up from 10% before the stem cell treatment to 30% after the Adult Stem Cells were implanted.
Congratulations Mike! We at Theravitae are very happy for you and wish you continued improvement and a healthy life.
Here is the email from Mike-
From: Mike Rumble Sent: 05/05/2009 06:43 Subject: ANNIVERSARY OF "MY OWN" STEM CELL TREATMENT!! It is my one year anniversary of receiving my "own" adult stem cell transplant!!! Guess what? They are working, the miracle is happening!!! Heart function has improved, shortness of breath gone, sleeping is very much improved, congestion has almost completely disappeared, strength and energy abound, and hope for a normal healthy life and heart are on the horizon!!!!!
One year ago today I received 32 million of my own stem cells injected into my left ventricle with 30 long thoracic needles in Bangkok Thailand. The Bangkok Heart Hospital is state of the art, five star care, with the most competent doctors and nursing staff I have ever ever encountered even after working in US health care facilities as a director for twenty years!
I am extremely grateful for the wonder support that I received from so many from all over the world and my special friends who gave, prayed, watched, commented, and encouraged me to go forth. It has been an amazing ride and journey.
There is a ways to go with fixing a leaky valve when the FDA approves a new procedure with a clip that can be used safe and easy and that will help the heart improve even greater and could potentially correct the chronic atrial fibrillation. So keep up the prayers and the positive energy everyone. Many many people are benefiting with the stem cell explosion. I am grateful now that there has been a lift on the ban for stem cell research in the US and I know that we are going to see hundreds of research centers finding new potential cures for many diseases.
Reverend Mike Rumble, a dilated cardiomyopathy patient with congestive heart failure from Florida who was treated by VesCell adult stem cells is reporting more improvement in his ejection fraction in his latest test results. I first featured Mike in December, 2008. His ejection fraction had gone up from 10% before VesCell stem cell therapy to 25% approximately 7-8 months after the stem cell treatment.
Today, Mike is reporting on his own stem cell blog that his ejection fraction has now gone up to 30%. So Mike's ejection fraction has gone up 20 points approximately 10 months after VesCell adult stem cells were implanted. Excellent!
However, Mike is not in the clear yet. He still has his severe mitral valve regurgitation problems. He says if he didn't have that, he believes his ejection fraction would be even higher.
This report would be much better we believe if I did not have severe mitral valve regurgitation where the blood that gets pumped out of the left ventricle falls back into the left ventricle because the mitral valve doesn't close properly. That makes the heart pump harder and thus weaken. Also this causes two other problems. One is a new thing called "Subendo Cardio Ischemia" which means a lack of oxygen and blood nutrients can get into that part of the heart and there is pressure and angina in the heart and chest area. The second problem that occurs is that it further enhances the atrial fibrillation or irregular heart electrical rhythm and thus makes the heart less efficient.
He also is reporting that he has been accepted into an FDA approved trial that should correct his mitral valve problem, but is having difficulty with his insurance. I hope that gets cleared up soon enough.
Let's all say a prayer for Mike and wish him continued improvement. And a round of applause for his big increase in ejection fraction.
My last post was on Leonard Narracci, a Dilated Cardiomyopathy patient from Florida who was helped by VesCell Adult Stem Cell treatment. This post, I have a Dilated Cardiomyopathy patient from Florida, but this time his name is Reverend Mike Rumble from Boyton Beach, Florida.
Reverend Mike, who was a volunteer chaplain, counseling patients at his local hospital, had been suffering from Dilated Cardiomyopathy for more than 10 years. He had already amazed his doctors by living much longer than they had predicted. However, about 18 months ago, his condition had taken a turn for the worst and he had been diagnosed as being in Stage 4 Heart Failure- the end stage.
Knowing he had to take action and not just sit back and die, and wanting to continue his good deeds at the hospital, Mike did some research. That was when he found VesCell Adult Stem Cell therapy in Bangkok, Thailand. Like Leonard Narracci, Mike did his homework on VesCell. He decided that VesCell stem cell treatment would give him the best chance of survival. He was also impressed by the fact that VesCell uses the patient's own Adult Stem Cells, not Embryonic Stem Cells and therefore, there were no moral issues for the good Reverend.
On May 5th, 2008, Mike received implantation of his own Adult Stem Cells in Bangkok, Thailand.
Just as it did for Leonard, it worked for Mike too. Here is an excerpt from the news article
Today, he's improving by leaps and bounds.
"Just in these few months I've had great improvement," he said. "I look better now and I have better coloring."
UPDATE: Mike reports in his blog that his Ejection Fraction has gone up from 10% to 25%!!!
My last post was about Karl Wagner and how VesCell Stem Cell therapy is now being used to help Pulmonary Hypertension patients. This post, I present another patient helped by VesCell Adult Stem Cells, but this time it is for Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
Leonard Narracci saw the story of Karl Wagner treated for Pulmonary Hypertension with Vescell on the Adult Stem Cell research blog and apparently he had to write in to that blog sharing his own story.
Leonard was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy approximately 3 years ago. Like most patients diagnosed with this condition that affects the heart muscle, Leonard felt tired all of the time, lethargic, no energy etc.
For most Dilated Cardiomyopathy patients, there is no hope for improvement. Medications can sometimes "keep the status quo," but that is the most these patients can usually hope for.
Leonard researched VesCell stem cell treatment intensely and contacted Dr. Zannos Grekos in Florida to see if he may be a candidate for the stem cell therapy. Dr. Grekos checked him out and pronounced him a candidate. The rest is history. On October 8, 2008, Leonard had his own Adult Stem Cells implanted. From Leonard's letter:
On October 8th. The agent took us to the hospital where I was prepped for the procedure and then taken to the Catheterization Lab for the procedure. The procedure takes between an hour and an hour and a half. I felt absolutely nothing, and was totally fascinated watching the entire procedure on the monitor. During the entire treatment, Dr. Grekos would check on me, and tell me that everything was proceeding perfectly
Exactly 7 days after the treatment I was feeling a renewed engergy and sense of well-being that I had not experienced in three years. Two weeks after the treatment, I had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Grekos. He was much more than pleased with the results he found. He did an Echogram, and the results were nothing short of remarkable. After only two weeks he found that my heart apex was normal, my heart had decreased in size and my ejection fraction had risen from 20 to 28. On November 25th. I went back to Doctor Grekos’ office for more testing, 7 weeks after treatment. The Echogram showed the walls of my heart thickening, indicating that the stem cells were regenerating healthy heart muscle that previously was non-functional and not contracting. It was now contracting strongly, evidenced by the fact that my ejection fraction was now up to 33. I guess these results say it all, and I am looking forward to the progression of these results over the next several months.
Here is another gentleman treated with VesCell Adult Stem Cells for Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Today is exactly two months after Leonard was treated for Dilated Cardiomyopathy using VesCell Adult Stem Cells. I sincerely hope Leonard continues his remarkable progress.
The week of September 20-26th (which we are in the middle of) is Cardiomyopathy Week. This week has been organized to raise awareness of cardiomyopathy and the work of the Cardiomyopathy Association, and fundraising for this organization which is based in the United Kingdom.
It looks like they have planned a plethora of activities this week designed to help them meet their goals- such as "as a pub quiz, garden sale or coffee morning." (those are definitely UK terms).
However, cardiomyopathy is a serious subject that deserves some attention. When you think of heart disease, most people think of clogged arteries, cholesterol, heart attacks etc. Cardiomyopathy gets less attention despite it being the biggest medical cause of sudden death of people under 35 years of age.
Cardiomyopathy is a very serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't work as well as it should. Sometimes it is caused by a congenital defect or by a virus.
Kevin Duckworth, a basketball All-Star recently passed away due to cardiomyopathy.
However, the Cardiomyopathy Association page lists two more:
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy
Left Ventricular Non-Compaction
Why the difference? The American cardiologists haven't discovered the last two yet? "Just kidding" American doctors who come across this blog.
Dilated cardiomyopathy patients can be helped with stem cell therapy . And here is more information about cardiomyopathy being treated with stem cells in this stem cell video.
Unfortunately, as I check the internet, Cardiomyopathy Week isn't getting much play here in the United States, but it should. Cardiomyopathy is a serious condition that affects thousands of heart patients every year.
I've been a big basketball fan since I was out of diapers. My favorite basketball team growing up was the Los Angeles Lakers. During that time period, one of their main rivals was the Portland Trailblazers led by Clyde Drexler. The Trailblazers were a good team and made the NBA Finals twice during Kevin Duckworth's career there. A 2 time All-Star, Duckworth was a major force to be reckoned with in the middle.
Duckworth, 44, was on a trip on the coast of Oregon to volunteer in a free basketball clinic when he passed away. The autopsy showed the cause of death was "attributed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure."
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is defined by the National Institute of Health as "a condition in which the heart muscle becomes thick. The thickening makes it harder for blood to leave the heart, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood."
This hypertrophic cardiomyopathy seems to run in the Duckworth family. Both of Kevin Duckworth's brothers as well as his father had died of congestive heart failure brought on by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It is important to note that- Although VesCell adult stem cell therapy can help dilated cardiomyopathy patients, unfortunately, VesCell can NOT help hypertrophic cardiomyopathy cases similar to Kevin Duckworth. It is my wish that one day stem cell therapy will be able to help this condition as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.
As much as I want to keep that stem cell therapy video (see below) at the top of the screen here, Stem Cell Guy can't keep this blog stagnant. Stem Cell Guy will always have the most current news about adult stem cell therapy for congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy.
Today, Stem Cell Guy has the scoop on Dee Coates. For those of you who don't remember Dee, she was one of the first Americans to come to Bangkok to receive stem cell treatment for her coronary heart disease. It has been 2 years since her own adult stem cells were implanted into her coronary arteries to help revascularize that region.
Here is the teaser--
In May 2005, Dee Coates was gobbling nitro tablets and had been told there was nothing more that could be done for her. She had endured 8 stents in her right coronary artery and a triple bypass. ‘I watched life pass me by. I didn’t participate as I couldn’t even walk half a block,’ she said.
Today she is at the gym doing 30 minutes on a treadmill, followed by weighlifting and a cool-down on the treadmill again. She has the energy to train for a new career as a medical transcriber, after a lifetime of office work; is 25 pounds lighter, with lower cholesterol and sugars, and, ‘Loving every minute of my life because life is so good.’ OH STEM CELL GUY! PLEASE LET ME FINISH THE ARTICLE!!
Stem Cell Guy would like to present Joe Woolfolk this week. Joe came to Bangkok to get his own stem cells for his cardiomyopathy treatment. Happily, Joe is back on the golf course after receiving his own adult stem cells to treat his cardiomyopathy. Here is the teaser- "I came here today to tell a story," the 63-year-old Frisco resident said at the Sept. 7 meeting. "This time last year, I couldn't walk 50 yards. I knew I wasn't going to live much longer."
"If I don't live another day, I've had eight months of a quality of life that was unimaginable." OH STEM CELL GUY! GIVE US MORE!!
It's mailbag time. Every Friday, Stem Cell Guy opens his mailbag so all his loyal readers can see what is happening in regards to stem cell therapy
Theravitae which as you know offers their Vescell adult stem cells for cardiomyopathy treatment helped yet another patient. We received this email from Tino Rossi a recent heart disease patient.
Stem Cell Guy presents this unedited: "My stem cells are doing a great job. I have reduced blood pressure, fasting sugar, BUN, Creatinine, and BNP( from 1460 to 446, drops me from high class IV to II, (NYHA)!! My GSR(kidneys) went from 33 to 42.6: need to get to >60. By the next blood draw in a month I'll be there!I had a Bruce treadmill last week going up to 10 degrees for 3 minutes and for 13 minutes total. Astounded me as I have still been cautious, but have been gardening and walking.
Subjective and physiological improvements: balance(no cane), hearing, vision, cognition, memory, color, mood, patience, more calm, energy, less pain, stopped narcotics, sleep, sleep and calmness, thinking, deciding and decision making and a new hope for the future with some changes!!
Drs. Suphachi, Vittaya, Chunhakasem, Damras, Suttipong, and Somchai, thank you for inspiring and affecting me while in Bangkok. You gave me belief and hope and now concrete evidence! The next series in three months will be improved! Faxes are on the way! Nursing Staff: Duanjunn, Patchara, Koi, Rin, Tuch, Jeag, Aew, Win, Bee!, Duean, Ae, Rung, Nitt, Jup-Jang, Ket, Kan, Rerng, Noi, Poo(Winnie the...), Ink, and Jib.Thank you all!!
The PCC's: John, Jea and Ju, Sher, Kathy, Lori, Jitra, Ophat, Narumol, Methavae, Wiraphan, Bell, L, Mum. Thank you!!
The Drivers: Lam, Prakit, and Montri. Thank you, too.
Don Margolis, Mr. Coo, a special thanks to you and your son for having the plan, courage, money and incentive to form and organize TheraVitae and VesCell! Heart patients are in a better place due to your passion!! I have been receiving calls weekly about my health from other heart patients. I talk to them, give them literature, and websites. I need some some introductions package, at least 10?
Thank you all for your love and support, I am ALIVE!!
Tino Rossi
Stem Cell Guy would like to say on behalf of Theravitae-- "Thank you for your kind letter, news of your improvement is what we live and work for."
Aloha Stem Cell fans. Welcome to Stem Cell Guy's little blog island. Stem Cell Guy is going surfin' bra. Dude, look at those killer waves.
Sorry, Stem Cell Guy will stop acting like an idiot and give you some good stuff:
This week Stem Cell Guy would like to present Dr. George Smith from Hawaii. Dr. Smith was suffering from coronary artery disease as well as congestive heart failure. Some doctors may call it ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Note to prospective patients...although Dr. Smith may have wanted/needed two different stem cell treatments, most of our patients are very satisfied with one or only need one. Two is not the norm.
Anyway, here is the teaser: Doctor George Smith, MD, from Hawaii, derived such benefit from his first adult stem cell treatment in Bangkok eighteen months ago that he returned recently for another procedure. The first trip gave Dr. Smith, age 80, a stronger heart muscle. The second he believes will help increase blood flow throughout his body. Dr. Smith is believed to be one of the first patients in the world to receive two different treatments of adult stem cells. "I don't think there are too many people going to the other side of the world to get stem cell treatment once, much less twice." he said with a grin. OH PLEASE STEM CELL GUY!! GIVE US MORE!
Stem Cell Guy would like to welcome Al Caudullo to the Theravitae family. Who is Al? Al is the video genius who will now be interviewing and filming our patients. Stem Cell Guy is proud to post this first video Al has created for our stem cell company.
Al interviewed Cardiomyopathy patient Gil Hayes along with his lovely wife Pat. Gil was treated with his own adult stem cells in early August. Obviously it is too soon to see how the stem cell treatment worked out for him, but the video gives some of his (and Pat's) views on what brought him to Thailand. Also, Pat weighs in on the hospital care they received while in Bangkok.
OH STEM CELL GUY! STOP TALKING! LET ME SEE THE VIDEO!!
Hello all you stem cell fans out there. Today, we have a special treat. This week, we focus on Jason Ludwick, a young man who was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy. While the title of this post(and article) "sucks" as my boss so eloquently put it, Stem Cell Guy thinks it says it all. Jason came to Bangkok for his adult stem cell therapy in October, 2005. We are very glad he did. Here is the teaser-
Jason Ludwick aged 34 from West Bloomfield, Michigan, counts himself a lucky man. Born with an atrial septal defect, by the time he was 15 he had a pacemaker; by 21 he was diagnosed as having cardiomyopathy and by 25 he had a defibrillator in place and an ejection fraction of just 8-10 percent. Heart failure dominated and restricted his life until he received adult stem cell therapy. Now he says that with training he could do a triathlon. OH STEM CELL GUY! PLEASE! GIVE US MORE!!
Stem Cell Guy is on a high (but not on drugs). Stem Cell Guy has been given the green light to keep on blogging. Like LeBron James vs. the Detroit Pistons, Stem Cell Guy is taking it to the hoop. Nobody, and I mean nobody is going to stop the Stem Cell Guy from blogging about his favorite topic- adult stem cell therapy for heart disease. Despite calls from the embryonic stem cell guys to shut down this blog (and more often- calls from my boss), I will ignore them and continue my work.
Today, I have a story about Clara Chestnut, a lovely woman who came to Bangkok for her adult stem cell treatment for her heart. As usual I'll shut up and let you read the rest--
Keep in mind, most of these patients I post about are real people and you can request their phone numbers and emails and I will be happy to provide them for you. Just email me at stemcellguy@theravitae.com
SUMMARY: She ought to be dead, but adult stem cell therapy has ensured a California woman with Cardiomyopathy continues to live an active life without any further deterioration to her damaged heart.
BANGKOK, Thailand, 2 May 2007 – Clara Chestnut from California has just become one of only a handful who have received her second treatment of adult stem cells for her failing heart. “I’ve been going downhill since 2000, with every year more of my heart being dead,” she said. “But after my first treatment in April 2006 my cardiologists have done a huge attitude shift and now recognize that ‘No change’ is a certificate of my wellbeing. Staying the same is terrific, so if it takes coming back every year I will do that.”
Like many heart patients Clara had experienced several heart attacks without knowing what they were. Her doctor concurred that at 59 the pains she experienced were probably arthritis, so she started carrying her purse on the other arm, but it made no difference. Then in 2000 she had two major heart attacks and started on the downhill slide. Specialists gave her 30days to live without a bypass and also told her she probably would not survive the surgery.
Clara got mad and searched until she found someone who could help her. “I wasn’t ready to die, and I knew that someone, somewhere, knew more than those people,” she said. Her new doctor gave her the first of seven stents and she felt “wonderful”. She read about singer Don Ho and his success story with stem cells, so did her research and in the face of her doctors’ opposition went to Bangkok in the care of TheraVitae, a leading international biotechnology company whose product, VesCell, has now helped hundreds of heart failure and PAD patients. “I was most impressed with the professionalism of the doctors and the nursing staff. Everything went fine and the following February I returned to my specialist for a cardiogram. He told me nothing had changed, so I asked him ‘Would you go back to Bangkok if you were me?’ He said that he would, but that I didn’t have to leave the next morning! That is an enormous attitude change.”
People looking for hope and help, who want to feel better and be more active, are the most outspoken advocates of adult stem cell therapy. “I listen to myself and I feel anybody with any sense would listen to themselves and know it’s something they should do. They know how they are feeling. They know how wonderful it would be to feel better. I don’t see why anybody would be reluctant,” she said.
When Stem Cell Guy watched the movie 300 , Doug Rice came to mind. Like King Leonidas in 300, Doug Rice stood tall and fought the odds rather than accepting his fate of death. However, unlike King Leonidas, Doug is still alive and well today thanks to Vescell- Stem cell therapy for heart disease.
Doug was suffering from congestive heart failure, the doc had recommended a new mechanical heart for him as he wasn't eligible for a heart transplant because of his diabetes. Not having many options, Doug came looking to Theravitae for help and we are all the better for it. We have a new friend in Doug Rice and Doug seems to be doing great.
Doug had enough energy to put up a new website. Check it out here And don't forget if you suffer from coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or congestive heart failure....there are options out there.
Stem Cell Guy's favorite line from the movie -"When told that the Persian army was so massive its arrows would block out the sun, the King replied "Then we will fight in the shade."
Doug Rice- Spartan Warrior - fought in the shade and won!
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