PATIENT EXPERIENCE – S P I N A L C O R D I N J U R Y
NAME: Razvan Iordache (Gabi)
COUNTRY: Romania (Prahove)
AGE: 27
DIAGNOSIS: C5-C6 Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury
REASON FOR COMING FOR TREATMENT: In 1995, when Razvan was in high school, he had a terrible accident when diving into a river. He was paralyzed from the neck down. The only thing he could move at that point was his eyes. Within 24 hours, he was operated on by Dr. Gh. Panoze. Since 1995, he has had daily rehabiliation (kinetotherapy, physiotherapy, massage, and accupuncture) at the Medical Physical Recovery Section of Poiana Campina Hospital.
TREATMENT: Umbilical cord stem cell and nerve growth factor injections with rehabilitation therapy.
He could move all parts of his arms except for his fingers. He could raise his hands up almost to shoulder height. He could stand up on his feet with support. He had sensation down to his chest (almost 50% for touch and temperature). He could hold his urine for a few seconds before he had to go.
AFTER THE TREATMENT: (March 31, 2006): See Videos- Movement, Bladder, Sensation, Sensation Returns, Improvements1, Improvements2. Razvan has new sensation all the way down to his feet. He has some sensation in his feet where he had none before. He can move his fingers repeatedly and now he can feel pain in the first two fingers on each arm. He has warm sensations in his legs where there was no sensation before and after awhile he can move his feet but only slightly. He can contract his stomache muscles which he could not do before. At times he can hold his urine for five to seven minutes before he has to go and his bowel function has improved.
UPDATE by e-mail from Iordache (June 8, 2006): It has been eight weeks since I returned home and my situation has continued to improve. My hands can move much better, I have more power in my hands and in my legs as well. Now I can move my fingers every day for at least ten times per day. I can stay on my feet for one to two hours with assistance and support for my knees. When I am on my feet, I have more stability than before I can make a lot more movement with my hands and with my body because my abdominal muscles and my back muscles are stronger than before. When I lay down on the bed I can move my feet a little and do this twice a day. My sensation has improved and I can feel my legs and all my body now. I can even feel warm and cold. I still feel that sensation like there are thousands of needles moving in by body all the time. Now I can control my urine for 10 minutes and the sensation for both urine and stool is much better. Generally, my entire body is more powerful than before.
Gabi has come back for his second set of treatments, six months after his last treatment. He felt that after his first treatment, he had 20% improvement in his condition overall and hopes that he will have another 20% improvement after this treatment.
Before Gabi's first treatment, he could move his arms up half way up to his shoulders. After the first treatment he was able to move them up to his to shoulders and he could do exercises with .5 kg weights. At the start of his second treatment, he could lift 2 kilogram weights to his shoulders. He used to be able to lift his arms about 20 to 30 times without weights but then he would have to rest for an hour. Now after lifting his arms with weights, he only needs a minute or so to rest before he does it again.
For bladder control, before the first treatment, Gabi could only hold his urine for a couple seconds. Then at the end of the first treatment, on average, he could hold his urine for 2 or 3 minutes on average. At the start of the second treatment, he could hold it for nine or ten minutes. Gabi rated his bladder control before the first treatment as 0 and then before the second treatment as a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Gabi did not have any movement in his abdominal muscles before the first treatment. Before the second treatment, Gabi rated his abdominal muscles as a 0, 1 after the first treatment and a 3 at the begining of the second treatment. He felt his triceps were a 0 before the first treament and a 3.5 before the second treatment.
Before the first treatment, Gabi could not sit for more than second without help. After the first treatment he could only stay sitting for a few seconds. At the start of the second treatment, if he was in a comfortable situation, he could sit for ten to fifteen minutes.
Before the first treatment, Gabi could not move his feet. After the first treatment, he could still not move his feet. But after hard work for the next 2 months, one day he could finally move his feet. He could not move them every time he tried but if he tried 100 times, he could move them 12 times.
He feels happy about this because it was the first time since the accident 10 years ago that he could move his feet at all. From the time he could first do it until two months later, he felt he had a 50% increase in his ability to do it.
In terms of finger movements, Gabi could not move his fingers before the first treatment. After the first treatment, he could move his fingers but would have to use his entire body to get the strength to do it and the movement was a combination of muscle spasm and strength. At the start of the second treatment, Gabi could move his fingers by using only his forearms and hand muscles and there was no muscle spasm involved.
(Gabi)
