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Something to think about - Americans going to China and India for SC treatment.........yes, it does matter who is president of the US. India stem cell treatment a go for locals Catherine Lutz - Aspen Daily News Staff Writer Tue 01/01/2008 11:00PM MST "We're going to India! Thank you!" Amanda Boxtel wrote in a mass e-mail on Christmas Eve. It was the best Christmas present three local paraplegic women could have hoped for - a fundraiser at the Aspen Club and Spa raised more than $100,000 for them to travel to India for human embryonic stem cell therapy. More than 600 people came through the doors on the evening of Dec. 18 to bid on silent and live auction items, enjoy a band, buy drinks and contribute to the cause - raise enough money for Boxtel, Kasie Burtard and Leah Rowland to spend several weeks in Delhi receiving groundbreaking treatment that is still illegal in the United States. Now, armed with $33,000 apiece, the women - who each expressed their profound gratitude for the community's support - will have the opportunity to do more than one of the lengthy treatments, and thus increase their chances of healing. "I'm so thankful we live in such a great valley - without it I would not have this opportunity that could change my life," said 25-year-old Burtard, who is confined to a wheelchair from a serious car accident in which she fractured multiple bones and crushed three vertebrae. A 2000 Roaring Fork High School graduate, Burtard was 19 when the accident happened; Friday is the sixth anniversary of the accident. Burtard, who works at the Colorado Division of Wildlife in Glenwood, is leaving March 1 for her first nine-week treatment. Up until now, she's only done physical therapy, and for the past two years has been traveling to Texas almost every other month for that. Embryonic stem cell treatment has been on her mind "since day one," she said, but something she wasn't sure she or her family were prepared for or could afford. "Knowing Amanda did it and had huge success really helped," she said. "I'm so blessed that Amanda is in our valley and introduced it, because otherwise it probably would be five more years before I could convince my family to let me try it." Boxtel, a 15-year paraplegic and co-founder of Challenge Aspen, was the first American to ever receive human embryonic stem cell treatment, and her experience - told on her Web site and in a forthcoming book - has drawn intense curiosity and numerous inquiries locally and from all across the country. Both Rowland and Burtard said they have been following Boxtel's story through her blog. "Now the community has the chance not only to watch my journey but to be there for Leah and Kasie," said Boxtel, who leaves for India for a month on Jan. 11. Boxtel, who on her first trip to Delhi underwent two months of stem-cell injections, will also go back in May and October. She explains that while each treatment introduces millions of stem cells into the body, many cells naturally die off over time, and patients ideally should get "top-off" treatments every few months, depending on their progress and individual situation. In the same vein, embryonic stem cells, like human embryos, take nine months to grow to their full capacity and complete their jobs. Human embryonic stem-cell treatment has been used to treat a number of disorders, including terminal ones, as well as people like Boxtel who were seriously injured. Dr. Geeta Shroff, who is treating the three women, is a pioneer in the field who developed one embryo in a lab from which she created multiple stem cell lines. Recently, scientists announced a breakthrough when they were able to make skin stem cells mimic embryonic stem cells, but Boxtel doesn't believe such a treatment - which is still several years away from reality - is for her. "Nothing in my opinion will replace the divine human embryonic stem cell, nothing man-made," she said. "While it's a huge step forward in scientific technology, it's still something man-made. I wouldn't go with something being altered by a human being in that sense." On her second trip to India this year, Boxtel's time will overlap with Rowland's, who plans to leave April 15 for her first two- to three-month stint. Rowland says that while she's both excited and nervous to go, the time will allow her to prepare her body properly. A walking quadraplegic, Rowland has already defied doctors' expectations that she'd never walk again. "This is so exciting, I'm already on another level just because of the support from the community," said Rowland, who broke her neck in a skiing accident nine years ago. "I'm just hopeful ... it's going to be a miracle. 2008 is going to be a good year." Rowland plans to spend four to five months total in India this year. "I'm putting my life on hold, but this is what I do 24/7," she said. "I feel like it's my path and I'm a student." While all three women have high hopes, none will carry specific expectations to India with them. Having lived so long with their injuries and knowing how painfully slow each step forward can be, they know better than to expect to miraculously walk again. They also know that there will be a lot of work ahead after India: intense physical therapy and whatever other kind of work the doctors prescribe. "I don't know if there will be any improvement from where I am now," said Boxtel, who said that many people she runs into on the street expected her to be walking after her first set of treatments. "But I'm stronger now than when I came back from India - I'm able to do so much more than on Aug. 18. If I accept my body now it can open up the realm of possibilities. It's critical to go with that thought rather than the expectation of walking, then you set yourself up for disappointment." [log in to unmask] Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn