My name is Ashley Thomson, I am 28 years old.
In July 2000 I was involved in an unfortunate accident where i was slammed upside-down onto my neck fracturing my C5/C6 vertebrae resulting in tetraplegia (that is no movement from the chest down). My injury is incomplete which means my spinal cord is not severed. I have great sensation over most of
my body and good upper-body strength.
I have worked hard to maintain my level of function by staying fit and active and living a relatively healthy lifestyle.

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Two months ago I wrote to Dr Shroff requesting to go over there for treatment. She wrote back that I needed to supply her with all my medical history since my injury and to make a short video demonstrating my physical capabilities. I did this and sent it all off to her and within three anxious weeks she replied back accepting me for the treatment.
So this is my mission. As far as I’m aware I will be the first New Zealander with a spinal-cord injury to undergo this therapy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

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Hows it going guys,

Sorry its been a while since I’ve updated you,  I hope you all had an awesome Christmas break. I’ve been back home now for about 6 weeks and its been really nice but the settling in period is well finished and I’ve started back into a strict regime of excercise and physio. I’m working out in my home gym every day and have started physio with Mr. Murray Hing at Flexa Clinic three days a week. We have a goal of getting my body into optimal condition for round two of Stem Cell treatment in April. This consists of deep tissue massage all over the body to stimulate the nerves and comb out any knots that have taken up residence in my body for the last nine years. I’m also doing a lot of upper body, core strengthening, and visualisation excercises.  On top of this I’ve been practicing walking on my calipers 3 days a week around my house. Its a great feeling to be up and about in my own home and see things from this perspective once again. So yeah…its all go at the moment but I’m loving it and loving how good my body feels.

In my spare time I’ve started a project with a good friend of mine. We are building a trike which you pedal with your arms. This is going to be a great way to excercise and check out some scenery at the same time, and also give me some more independence. I’ll post some photos when she’s finished.

Cheers,

Ash

Well it’s all over. 13 weeks and 11 procedures and I’m all done. We’re all packed and have to wait a couple of hours before we leave for Delhi International airport. Its been an amazing experience on the whole and I was thinking to myself today what better and more spiritually in-touch country to have stemcell treatment in than this? I mean you can’t help but notice and feel that this is a very special place. I’ve made so many beautiful new friendships with some of the staff and doctors here at Nu-Tech. They are very lovely people. Every new sensation and improvement in my body has maintained itself to this day. My body feels great and alive! For the next few months the new cells in my body will continue to grow and mature and I shall continue to see new results. I thought I knew quite a lot about H.E.S.C’s before coming, but now I have learnt even more and will be putting up a new section on the site explaining more about H.E.S.C. therapy. I’m excited about going home, it’s been a long journey and I’ve really missed my family and friends. Coming here though has taught me to be so grateful for what I have and where I’m from. In the new year I’ll be starting a physio programme with Murray Hing – he’s one of the best so im looking really forward to working with him and his staff. Now that I own my own pair of leg braces and granny walker I will be practicing my walking everyday.Thank you all who have been following me through this and supporting me, your words and thoughts mean so much to me and have helped push me harder. Words can’t even begin to describe whats it feels like to have a whole nation behind you supporting you. Its something  special I tell ya! I’m heading back here in April for round two so see ya then India. Here’s to a better quality of life, Cheers, Ash x

Hey everyone, Its been a crazy week. I had my second Epidural on Wednesday (procedure #8) which went well. The other night I was lying in bed watching TV and all of a sudden felt like there was somthing crawling up my leg..I yelled out to Rave to lift off the blankets to check what it was? There was nothing. It was new sensory sensation crawling up my leg starting from the side of my calf muscle up around my knee, up my thigh, and stopping around my rib cage. It felt crazy! Everthing seems to be happening on the right side of my body so far which is so cool, not complaining, I’m sure the left side will hopefully come to the party soon. Apart from all that excitement last week there was also a small press-conference held here at Nu Tech. Dr Schroff and Dr Verma invited some press from around the globe to come and hear of the latest developments in their treatment. The patients were all included in this and the press were free to ask any quesitons they wanted. It was a privilege to be a part of. Radio New Zealand have contacted me and asked if I will do an interveiw with them which I’ve happily agreed to do. I think its going to be on the nine-till-noon show tomorrow (Monday) NZ time. Im happy to give insight into what goes on over here and to give a massive shout-out to everyone in NZ who helped contribute to get me here. I think the radio station is 101.4 FM so if ya wanna have a listen tune in. Ciao for now, Ash

Hi everyone, Ash has had a busy week with two more procedures, both of which he has had before. The first was another 3-day procedure, the catheter up the spine into which they pump stemcells twice a day. He had a couple of days rest after that then received another Deep Spinal Muscle injection, a quick procedure but must have taken it out of him because he slept for 18 fairly solid hours afterwards! All went well with both, he’s an old hand now Apart from that and physio we have been laying very low and enjoying the drop in temperature! All the locals are bundling up for the much cooler 25 degree (celsius) weather its pretty funny. Ash is experiencing deeper feeling in the new areas of sensation and has noticed improvement in his bladder output, and we’re on the lookout for any more changes after these last procedures. Only one more month to go! Will be in touch with any more news..R xx

Well we’ve made it to the halfway point. Ash bounced back from the Lumbar procedure after a few days and is feeling great again. He had one more procedure yesterday, a Caudal injection into the tailbone area to try to kick-start the bladder and bowels. All went well and there were no nasty side-effects from this one thank goodness! Just a few hours of lying still afterwards. Ash has been working extra hard at physio to regain his strength and its all paying off, he’s making huge progress and has even been up on his calipers using the walker! No need for the parallel bars anymore he’s all mobile! Exciting stuff, see pics. The other great news is that Ash has been experiencing new feeling and flickers in his top two abdominal muscles and core area! This is a really good sign, he can actaully feel all those physio excersises in his trunk kicking in. He’s feeling so positive about things and on top of the world with these improvements and is just looking forward to more progress in the next 6 weeks to come

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Hi Guys, I won’t lie, its been a really rough few days. I went in for my lumbar puncture procedure on Wednesday. This was an injection of stemcells directly into the centre of my spinal cord. The side effects from this procedure are not nice, throbbing headaches, followed by nausea and vomiting and virtually no sleep, not fun. But, I’m sitting up now and starting to feel slightly normal. The good news is I think the worst is over procedure-wise, so its onwards and upwards from here. I’m looking forward to getting back into some physio and regaining and maintaining my strength again. Will let you all know how I’m doing soon. From Ash

Hi everybody Well its finally cooling down here in Delhi the days are still sunny but now its pleasant! Much better for sight-seeing. Diwali was incredible, fireworks like you’ve never seen before and everywhere you look! It went on all night. Ash is doing an amazing job on his calipers, his steps get stronger and stronger every time. At some point next week they will try him out on the granny-walker, he’ll still wear the leg braces but take steps using the support of a walker instead of the stationary handrails which he has been using so far. It will be a challenge but i’m sure he’s up to it. His next procedure is this coming Monday. It will be a lumbar puncture directly into the spinal cord, ouch. He’s a bit nervous but after this he’ll know exactly what to expect from all the procedures. Will update from the other hospital probably while he’s lying very still and waiting patiently! xx

Well its only been a week since the last procedure but the team here decided today Ash was ready for the DSM – deep spinal muscle injection. This is two injections on either side of the spinal cord at injury site to stimulate the muscles around it and also his core muscles. It only took about 20 minutes and an hour to rest afterwards and then he was up and eating again! Feeling a bit tender but he says all-in-all no biggie. Ash still continues to get up on his calipers every day and practice his walking. Its a challenge but he’s making great progress coordinating the balance, control and upper body strength that it takes to do so. This week has been the build-up to Diwali – the biggest festival of the year here in India. Everything is lit up with lights and the marketplaces have been expanding by the hour with everybody selling sweets and treats and fireworks for the holiday, its like Christmas! We plan to spend it on the rooftop terrace watching the fireworks all over Delhi, will post pics after the weekend. Team India x