The stem cell injection procedure

The morning of December 13, 2013 we drove down to Park City Utah for a consultation with dr. Adelson.  Thankfully my aunt had agreed to watch our children for us while we went to the appointment.  Dr. Adelson reviewed the MRI and X-rays of Craig's foot and ankle.  He told us more about the injury, and what he suspected had happened in the accident.  Truthfully it was nice to have someone explain why bone on bone arthritis is not uncommon after a traumatic joint injury.  He told us about the combination cell injection procedure, and what results he has seen in patients with injuries similar to Craig's.  He made no promises that it would heal Craig, but he was optimistic.  He asked us if we were interested in going through with it, and we agreed.  Ten minutes later Craig was face down on the table being prepped.  The room was clean and neat.  The equipment was in good condition, and it felt like an appropriate environment.  Bone marrow was aspirated from Craig's hip bone via X-ray guidance.  Fat cells were taken from his lower back via liposuction.  The materials were prepped appropriately and then injected into Craig's ankle in four different places.  Dr Adelson used X-ray and  X-ray detectable dye to ensure that the cells were injected into the right places.  Craig said that that part of the procedure was by far the most painful.  Afterward, his foot was wrapped up and he was told to use crutches for a day or two.  A few minutes later we headed out.  No cast, no boot, no long painful drawn out recovery.  He just couldn't drive for a few days since it was his right foot.

The first 24 hours were pretty painful, but by day three Craig had noticed a significant change in the pain.  Previously he had felt a "grinding" pain, and by day three is was as he described it, "a bulging pain".  He said it felt as if he had gone from walking with an ice pick shoved up his leg bone, to walking with a marble in there.  Two weeks later the bulging pain was gone, and he was doing quite a bit better.  He said that the pain level had decreased by at least half.

Now it has been almost two months since the procedure was done.  Before the procedure Craig had constant pain even when sitting or laying down...it was awful for him just to walk on flat even ground, let alone grass or a field.  There was no hope of  climbing, running, or jumping, or even standing on his tip toes.  If the kids accidentally bumped into his leg it would send excrutiating pain through his whole leg,  Now he says that he has no pain when sitting or laying down.  He has no pain when the kids bump his foot or climb on him.  He says that walking isn't painless, but it is minimal compared to the pain of walking before.  He recently started physical therapy.

We feel like we are on the road to recovery, and hopefully actual regenerative healing.