Hope For Pain Free Life (from The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald
Multiple sclerosis sufferer John Warwick hopes his pioneering stem cell treatment will ease the pain he has to endure.
The 49-year-old owner of the Swindon and District Animal Haven, in Wootton Bassett, underwent surgery at Bristol's Frenchay Hospital on Friday.
Specialists drilled two holes in his hips, extracted about five million stem cells from his bone marrow, and re-injected them into his veins.
The entire process took about four hours.
"It didn't hurt at all," he said. "They told me they put about five million back in and it's just a case of seeing how it goes now.
"I can't tell if it's any better yet, but I have been having lots of weird and wonderful new feelings, itches and things."
Mr Warwick has suffered from MS for 26 years and was offered a place on the pilot study earlier this year by Professor Neil Scolding. The procedural study, which involves five people, is designed to find the best way in which to carry out the treatment.
"Before they harvested the stem cells, I had lots of tests done," Mr Warwick said.
"They had to see which parts of my nervous system were working and which weren't.
"In two months' time I have got to redo the tests, so they can see what effect it's had.
"What would be great personally is if I could get rid of the pain the MS causes. That would be fantastic.
"You can't take anything that will take the MS pain away.
"It's like a red-hot poker inside your bones and painkillers don't help that. I'm not sure if it has eased or not yet, but I am certainly experiencing a different kind of pain."
Mr Warwick discovered he had MS after suffering what he and his wife, Deana, thought was a stroke, while living in Holland at the age of 23.
The couple have seven children and opened the animal shelter in 1999.
Mr Warwick said he hoped stem cell treatment would help him and other people suffering from various diseases.
"It is definitely the way things are going to go," he said.
"Stem cell technology is fantastic and it's the future.
"I have been fighting this disease for 26 years and to get the opportunity to be involved in this is fantastic.
"I am totally chuffed and I can't praise the people doing it highly enough.
"Everyone was absolutely fantastic with me. They all let me know what was going on and why, which just made it so easy.
"Thankfully, it all seemed to go okay and they said I was a model patient."
11:19am Thursday 23rd August 2007
posted by Bill at 4:10 PM
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