Here is an update from Chris about his stem cell treatment and therapy in Panama. Keep going bro, keep going...

I just received my first umbilical cord injections, intrathecal and IV. My legs tingled and burned all night. I have tingling in between my toes as well.  Therapy is like boot camp. I am at a new place called Bioimagen. My therapist’s name is Josalyn, Jose for short, and she don’t play no games!  And when you do a set of 25 reps you get about 30 seconds to catch your breath until the next exercise. I can count and sometimes her 25 is 35.  I am so sore, sore as hell.  My back has been aching where my rods are located.  She can squeeze more abdominal workouts in one hour than any one on earth.  I feel like I'm back in high school waiting for the bell to ring to dismiss class. But it's good.  A lot of my motivation comes from being frustrated and mad.  I have learned how to tap into those feelings and turn them into good energy.  My first day at therapy, in the midst of 300 sit-ups, I wondered how the hell my life ended up this way.  You get these moments when you think that all this can't be real. Like stop this train I want to get off type feeling.  Crazy. But it is what it is so you got to move if you want to live.  I have some moments like that then I snap out of it and go. They got weights strapped to my arms while I'm balance sitting-- throwing pillows at me to catch and throw back to a few therapists standing around me.  My balance is great.  My second day of therapy was hard after getting those injections.  My body just could not get moving. I was so exhausted from the stem cells.  I talked to the doctor and she said that it's normal and not to worry, something with the umbilical cord cells and my immune system.  I was just more tired than I ever felt in my life.  I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep on the mat. My drill Sergeant Jose, (who doesn't speak much English at all) said, "You lazy today." I popped up like a bat out of hell and said “let’s do this.”  Then I had to change the mood for the rest of therapy.  The mood in there was like being at a funeral.  I started practicing my bad words in Spanish while we exercised and before long, I had the whole room cracking up.  Now they all think I'm crazy.  Now I keep them laughing with just the silly things I do. 

 My injections were yesterday.  I don't know what to expect but here's how I feel right now.  My hip flexors are really active. I had those since the last treatment but they are just really active but it's not a fine controlled motorized movement.  They trigger and my hips thrust and sometimes when I'm laying flat my leg will just come up and bend at the knee.  My left is more active than my right.  My butt and legs just tingle.  They don't hurt.  You can't feel them but you just know they are there.  It’s really hard to explain. The tingling helps me mentally visualize where I am paralyzed and locate it in my head.  My shins tingle.  It tingles above my knees too.  It's a constant tingle, kind of like your ass feels after you get done push mowing for a long period of time!  I got IV umbilical cord on Friday and therapy and then I'm off until Monday.  I received good news about my bone marrow extraction!  The doctor said he went three times because my counts were always low in the past. They don't have the exact count yet, but said I have enough marrow for the next time and possibly a third if I have progress!  That is great news considering my counts have been just enough for that particular time.  I was excited to think about the next trip and possibly the one after so I wouldn't have to repeat that procedure. 

Today's therapy was crazy. The construction workers the night before broke the elevator which we use to get to the second floor of the therapy gym.  They decided to build ramps that night to get all the patients to therapy.  All I got to say is that if Frank Ross was here he'd be fighting some Panamanians! Steeper than you can imagine! Three separate staircases. 5 men to get me up the ramps. I'm probably the heaviest patient here right now at 200 lbs.  I appreciate the effort but I told them if the elevators broke next time don't come pick me up.  I got some video on my phone. I made this man I met who’s here with his wife film it.  I had a smudge on my iPhone lens so it's blurry. I'm mad about that! It was a You Tube special!  

I got a second intrathecal umbilical injection today at 4. I spent an hour afterwards doing stand- up comedy at the clinic.  I kept everyone entertained.  We had dinner in tonight. I am going to try and get some sleep. We are going to take the kids to the Caribbean tomorrow.  A friend in Panama offered to drive us and spend the day with us. One week down and an important week lay ahead. My spasticity has quieted down and I am now just waiting on something new with my body.