She suffered a T10 incomplete spinal cord injury in 1998. Syringomyelia was diagnosed in 2001. Her doctors told her that she only had six months left to live.
Her treatment began on may 9th, 2006: umbilical cord stem cell injected into the spinal cord fluid and intravenously.
Before the treatment
Monica could not move her legs at all. No sensitivity below the injury site. Her upper body was strong but there, too, some of sensitivity was lacking. During her rehabilitation exercises, while using the standing machine, she needed to have the straps very tightly fixed.
After the treatment
When Monica came back home she returned to her old rehabilitation routine, discovering that she could do many new things. The most exciting was the ability to move both legs while in a standing position, with her right leg being slightly stronger than her left. Her knees were much stronger then before, and provided something was there to fix them in place, she could even make some steps.
Muscle spasms diminished and Monica could control them to move her legs. On the standing machine she was able to stand with the straps lose, feeling confident about the control on her balance. The aching in her back that she used to have after the rehabilitation session was gone.
She regained some sensitivity (touch, hot, cold, pain) in her arms, too. In general, Monica felt stronger and got less easily tired then before.
Nevertheless, if Monica is sitting she is not yet able to move her legs. She can not yet move her toes. One night she forgot to put a blanket on and felt that her legs were cold: surely a step further from no sensitivity whatsoever, but this improvement lasted only one month, then disappeared.
Beike is a bio-technology company that was founded with capitals from Beijing University, Hong Kong University...
