Winding up Round 2

Hey everyone, here we are again at the end of another session, tomorrow is my last day of treatment here in Delhi. Its been another rewarding session with big gains made in balance, I've also gained some more feeling and awareness of my legs and feet and got a little bit of movement back also. Louis "Last Minute" Rowe has just booked a flight home - 1 day before I leave.. So its smiles all round!! Speaking of leaving things to the last minute and on a much more serious note. The Stem Cell fundraiser is on October 17 and the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, Dr Geeta Shroff is coming out for a once only talk, there will be a question and answer time a 3 course dinner, beer and wine, auctions and give-aways and live music, Its going to be a great night!! I urge all of you to buy tickets and come along, Stem Cells not only help people with spinal chord injuries, but also people who have had strokes, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Diabetes, and many many other nerve and muscle ailments. Tickets through www.ticketek.com.au.

P.S. In past posts I have referred to Stem Cell injections as babies - I would like to say that this being a humorous and entertaining blog about my experience here in India, this reference is not true at all. They are not babies or Foetus' on the contrary Dr Shroff has perfected a technology that allows her to harvest her stem cells from one fertilised egg that was donated by an IVF patient of hers. Dr Shroff's technique allows this one egg to keep multiplying and therefore this one fertilised egg can produce enough stem cells to service the whole world, with not one abortion or life being taken.. So many people have the potential to get a better quality of life from stem cell treatment and Dr Shroff has the technology to do it ethically. For all those who have formed a negative view towards stem cells on a ethical basis please come along to the Stem Cell Fundraiser and be educated on the matter from the world leader of this technology.

Thanks again for reading I'm planning to return next August, but until then see you on the 17th of October at the Stem Cell Fundraiser!

Funtime

Nameste Hello. Well what a week its been in India! Full of excitement, we go back to last Friday when my mate Tenno arrived to substitute for the injured Vee. The trip to the airport to pick him up was a hair-raiser and i thought for a few minutes when the driver pulled in to fill up with petrol but was in too much of a rush to turn the car off, that I wasn't going to make it! Obviously it wasn't a big deal, no one seemed to really care and we all lived. Then on Saturday Tenno and I went out to the main tourist hangout Cannought Place, we went to the market, had a drink in a bar and lazed around for the afternoon, learning later when we got back and watched the late night news that the place was bombed 3 hours after we left! We're starting to think that maybe we shouldn't travel together! The hospital is at full capacity at the moment and 90% of us are Australians, a really good bunch of people that are making the stay here a lot easier. We are showing the Indians how we do it down under with loud sessions gambling and drinking (non-patients only). Rest assured all the fun is not detracting from the serious business of waking up my bottom half. Since my last update I've had another increase in balance, which makes the walking with crutches a lot easier and the foot movement when standing just with a walking stick can now be recognised as an actual step! Again its all very frustratingly slow and some days are much better than others but we are starting to wind it up and next week i'm guessing will be filled with procedures and big injections to fill me up before i get home saturday week! Go Doggies!!

Hump Week

So here we are already in the middle of the trip, and things are really starting to get going inside of me. On Monday morning I went across to the old hospital for a procedure, I was told that morning it would be the big double whammy Hey Big Johnny!! A dose of the dreaded lumbar puncture notorious for its killer headaches and at the same time a 3 day catheter drip notorious for its span of 3 days. So I had a cold shower and pumped myself up for a few days of pain then laid down for a few hours waiting to be called down to the OT. Its something I've been through now many times before so I new what to expect and was more excited than nervous going into it, the ward-boys came up and put me on a stretcher and we made our way down to the small narrow lift, the old iron doors were pulled open and I was carefully pushed in. In the operating theatre Dr Ashish Verma (Guest Speaker at The Stem Cell Fundraiser) was waiting and ready for the action. A heart monitor was put on my finger and the beeping commenced.. and very quickly got quicker and quicker. I was rolled onto my side and squeezed up like an accordion as Dr Ashish washed my back ready for entry. Entry came in a few pricks of needles to numb up the back, then came 15 minutes of rumbling around, bit of poking and prodding, little bit of cutting and threading, then a touch of tape to tie it all up and were done.. There were no immediate reactions and as i laid there for a minute afterwards I couldn't help but feel really really happy, a smile came to life on my face and i was extremely content, like I'd just slipped into a nice hot bath after a long days work... aaahh sedation.
As was taken back to my room and soon fell asleep. Easy Done. I woke some time after with the headache, which was soon eased again with the prick of another needle, which I could actually feel go in on the side of my bum cheek! Anyway cut another 3 days short and here we are feeling on top of the world. In physio today I was a lot more balanced standing up, my legs were stronger and felt somewhat lighter than before.. it feels as if the concrete that they are set in is getting a few big cracks in it... A few more big hits I think could knock some hefty chunks off. So I've already told Dr Ashish I'm ready for another big one.. Bring on the babies!!

The Stem Cell Fundraiser - Get Involved

The Stem Cell Fundraiser
October 17 Melbourne
www.ticketek.com.au

Aint Got Shoes For This Road

One week in and unfortunately there is very little to report in this fight against the consistently inconvenient paraplegia. The week has been quite an easy one, spent settling back into the groove of early mornings, physiotherapy and injections, and it was topped of nicely with a small one day procedure on Friday. Physio is basically the same routine as last time, except now with a lot more floor exercises such as crawling, kneeling and balance work. I'm now able to extend my leg approximately 120 degrees in a relatively powerful movement although the full-back of the Old Xav's 3rds isn't under threat its progress. Progress is being made also in walking with arm crutches and with a walking stick, in which I was able to drag my foot forward a good 5 inches before loosing balance, again its not much but something I wasn't able to do last time around.

As this will be a short and sharp session we are planning to have a procedure once a week, with a double-banger towards the end to ensure that I'll be full of the super-juice when I return home to watch the Dogs win the flag. So I will hopefully have something more exciting to write about in the next installment, in the meantime Northcote social Club this Friday the 5th.

The Return Of The Legless Lizard!

A wall of sound blasts the loving crowd; the place is rocking. The singer looks like a lumpy bean bag propped up by pipe cleaners as he walks along the edge of the stage, his black t-shirt boldly promoting hiredgoons.com.au, his long skinny legs carefully stepping over the empty Smirnoff bottles. The rhythm section, the best Melbourne crowds have heard since ‘The Wreckery’ split in ’88, draw towards the end of a tight set and the crowd erupts. The singer not thinking in excitement takes a run up and dives off the stage into the unsuspecting crowd. ***BING*** “Ladies and gentlemen please return your seats to the upright position, we are now beginning our descent into Delhi”. I was dreaming. I must have dozed off while watching ‘The Diving Bell and The Butterfly’ for the fourth time since we left Melbourne this morning. It’s a movie that reduces me to tears every time, embarrassingly I try to disguise my welling eyes by yawning and pretending I’m tired, on the contrary it’s a movie that inspires the hell out of me, filling me with a nervous energy that will hold me in good stead tomorrow morning as I embark on my second series of stem cell treatment with Dr Geeta Shroff. As I step of the plane into the refurbished airport, my nose reacquaints itself with the smell, my skin to the steamy heat and my ears to the noise of hustle and bustle, and strangely I feel like I’ve returned home, I guess now with the addition of the stem cells some parts of my body have. I’m here for the next 5 weeks and will once again be updating you readers with entertaining stories from the Miracle Factory.

Round 1 wrap up

Just before I start the "N" o they keyboard is stuffed so if a word looks funy its probably missing an N. Well here we are o the last day of 9 weeks I would have never have dreamnt of progressing this quickly..... thats a lie, I dreamnt about it all the time haha, but always had in the back of my mind that this may not work, a thought which has now totally disolved. I'm walking out of this place this afteroon with a knee brace, the ankle supports and crutches.. but its a game of 3 halfs and the goal of walking without callipers has been put back for roud 2 which is September.. So it will happen just a matter of time. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me out over the last 15 months whether you donated to get me over here to India, carried me up stairs it is greatly appreciated as without your help I would have never got this far! On this point in October we are organising another fundraiser to help send 2 other guys with spinal chord injuries over here to India, Jarred Anderson and Gavin Leonard both would love to come over but need your help in doing so, Keep your ear to the ground and an eye on Louisrowe.com for further details. So thats it folks thanks for reading, i'll keep this updated with any major changes that may come in the future.

Cheerio from Louis Rowe

The Business End

My shoes squelch, my clothes are soaked and my ears and nose drip like a tap, I'm in the deep end of the stem cell pool, its the modern day natural theuraputic springs that people treck thousands of miles for a chance to bath in the healing waters. After 2 procedures in 2 weeks and the regular 2 shots a day, I've got the stuff comming out my ears, but its all good! I was down in physio today for the first ime in a week or so and for the first time walking and standing felt like a natural thing to do, as though people do it all the time or something. I was not struggling to keep ballance with everystep and I was actually making steps not shuffling along like an old man. so we pulled out the walking stick. The walking stick is just a normal looking stick but at the bottom it sprouts out into for legs for extra stability. So we had a crack and I was only able to move one foot a little bit forward but I was able to stand ballanced just holding the stick for a minute, so thats a start. The feeling has started to come back in my feet aswell as I was able to notice my foot up against the metal bars of the bed. Feeling comes back to a plegic from the bone outwards, so now I can only feel something deep in the leg if i touch it hard, over time the feeling will come higher out to the skin and eventually a light touch of a feather may be able to be felt. This time next week it will be our last day here in India, so I'm getting excited to get home, but ofcourse it will be sad to say goodbye. I'm having drinks at the Rising Sun Hotel in South Melbourne on Saturday the 24th so hope to see you there! Cheerio

Update for the month of May

Here we are in May, sorry for the lack of updates, they're becoming a chore.. I'm a little over it all, but we're on the downhill only 2 and a bit weeks to go. In the mean time I've been quite busy, a procedure last week left me in complete agony for 2 days with the worst headache imaginable, I was rolling on the floor nearly crying, that usually just happens Sunday morning after a night out. So i got over it on Friday, and had an easy physio session Saturday morning it was obvious then that the procedure made me a lot stronger and increased my balance I'm now training to walk with crutches. I also got a lot of feeling back, I can now feel what remains of my calf muscle jiggle when i move my leg, so thats good. Today I get up and get down to physio to be told I have yet another procedure tomorrow! Another 3 dayer, thats going to be fun. Becuase I'm showing good signs with each procedure they are pumping them into me to maximise the benefit, and I'm not complaining, with only a few weeks I'm happy to be impregnated with as may babies as possible! So i'll endeavour to get back on and write an update Friday after the 3 days, until then readers Cheerio.

Taj Mahal

Season 2008 - Official AFL Website of the Western Bulldogs Football Club

If your reading this hello. Another short and sharp update, On friday of the regular needles in the arm were substituted for a couple into the back, right at the level of injury on both sides of the spine. Afterwards my legs were getting a few cold sensations as aif a fan was blowing them, and my kick has increased up to about 1.6 cms. Other than that all the crew went down to Agra where the Taj was built all those years ago, not a bad spot to visit. Happy birthday to Tenno & Tarah & Go Doggies!

classic postcard shot

tourists

it was nearly on for young and old

Paraplegia - The Soundtrack

Here it is the complete paraplegic soundtrack, haha ahh OK I'm a little bored...

1. Trouble - Ray LaMontagne

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpD97p7qGzs)

3. I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMD7Ezp3gWc)

4. Waiting For The Miracle - Leonard Cohen

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQOok6zO-CI)

5. Day Is Done - Nick Drake

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2jxjv0HkwM)

6. Exit Music For A Film - Radiohead

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMqXj-eVCjI)

7. Aracade Fire - Wake Up

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEKC5pyOKFU)

8. Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyKb_zu5dOE)

9. Independence Day - Elliott Smith

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ZPmfO1poc)

10. Staralflur - Sigur Ros

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn8j4LxQAMQ)

11. Walk In The Park - Oh No! Oh My!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKbSlpHom2g&feature=related)

12. Wave Goodbye - Kelly Stoltz

(www.Icouldn'tfindthissongontheinternet.com.haha)

One Month To Go

After a week of inaction with the 3 day and the Delhi Belly, I finally got back down to physio and back into the swing of things. It was evident from the start that my balance had increased and my legs were much stronger than before. After a nice easy one to get back into the swing of things on Monday, Tuesday bought around another challenge, to stand Calliper-less.

I now have started to get sensations in the knees and ankles and can feel a pressure in them when they are pressed, so when I stand now the pressure runs down my leg, all this means I now know (without looking at my legs) whether I'm standing, or sitting or whatever.

So anyway I was able to stand for a few seconds without Callipers, just ankle supports, and was able to feel my knees buckle under the pressure. We've got one month to go and the goal now is to walk out of here on the 19th of May without Callipers just the moon boots. So there ya go, who would'a thought eh.

Cheerio

Delhi attacks Belly

That's right. Anyway the procedure went well, again there was no adverse reactions, so it was all smooth sailing. I have been out of action for the last few days due to an unsettled stomach, so i haven't been able to see if any changes have occurred from the procedure but from Monday i will hopefully see some come through as I get back down to physio. There has been some unbelievable progress made here by some other patients I don't think I can mention any names but you will no doubt here about it back home at some stage. Truly inspiring stuff!
Its starting to warm up over here, getting high 30's each day, very dry heat, very un-wet. Sam met Glenn McGrath and another dude called Banger the other night, the whole city gets into the IPL cricket its one massive party. I'll chuck anther quick update on Monday after physio.
Cheerio

Procedure Number 3

So here we are at number 3. Its been a slow but confident week, slowly but surely my legs are starting to come into shape, they were measured during the week and amazingly have decreased in circumfrence size, this is due to the muscle in them loosing their flabbyness and tightening up ready for action. The action came in a very minute kick of no less than 1.53cm it bought me back to the days of kicking out to Rocket from full-back in the mighty 3rds, this was without the aid of any hip or body movement, just pure leg. The callipers have been cut down again, its now a small knee brace and a seperate ankle brace. These are much more smaller, lighter and a little more difficult to use as they don't have the same support as the larger, but they do fit under jeans and snow boots so thats cool. So the changes in my body have started to slow down so its procedure time again! This is the 3rd procedure and the biggest.

A 3 day love fest filled with copius amounts of stem cells and injections and IV drips and streamers and balloons and all the fun things. A cathetar is inserted in my lower back and up along the spine and out the top of the shoulder and every 2 hours a fresh batch of babies are shot in and hopefully will find their way to wherever they need to go. So its going to be all fun and games for the next 3 or 4 days, I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes so stay tuned.

I scanned this postcard from India, so you can print it off from home. Love from Louis.

Righto, Righto.. I'll update it..

Bonjour tout le monde, Firstly I apologise for the time its taken to write this short update, I've been way to busy doing nothing at all, it took a call on hero Friday from Tenno & Randy to get me into gear. So last weeks procedure went well, there was no 3 day headache afterwards so that was a good start, instead it just feels like I'm being dangled like a marshmallow over a bushfire as the sensory nerves in my legs are starting to wake up. It doesn't tickle now, but hopefully soon it will. Other than that its been the normal 2 physio sessions a day, and walking about 30 metres each day, with the callipers and walking frame, then a few walkercises which include a sobering game of lifting my foot an putting it down in the same spot, walking backwards, sideways, and forwards again and again.
My mother Vee and Godmother Mary are arriving this afternoon on a fully sponsored flight from WhiteKing and WetOnes.. I weighed myself for the first time in 12 months the other week and gave them the order to bring a truckload of 4'n'20's to bulk up my elongated jockey like frame.
In other news Rock Legend Nick Barker (http://www.myspace.com/nickbarkermusic) and Gun Melbourne producer Buzz (http://www.thedemostudio.com.au/) are currently weaving their magic on my album "A Line Of Louis" stay tuned to my myspace (http://www.myspace.com/alineoflouis ) for details on its release around the middle of this year.

2 weeks in

Its late afternoon and the large regal red sun is retreating after a hard days work shining through the hazy Delhi smog. A mischievous wind brings about a smell of curry and breaks the silence as the 3 of us lounge around the 3x4 room, each engrossed in our own activities of reading, writing and playing poker. Time in between physio sessions which consist of trudging around the basement on a walking frame as if I'm searching for a missing sock, is spent now debating and discussing the more challenging questions that life throw us, like what makes the tail of a rattle snake rattle? And do one ended sticks really exist? Sam conveys his wondrous knowledge on the most courteous way to serve Chai Tea, which of course with a thick layer of skin on the top, as he squirms about a loose stool as if it was an internal gut wrenching battle he is bound to loose... he farts again.

We have been here now for the best part of 2 ponderous weeks. Already we have tasted many a dish, talked to many a local, had many a laugh and seen many a thing that can only be seen here in India, like a herd of cow grazing on the barren nature strip in the middle of a major city highway.

Everyday brings about a new adventure and everyday brings about a new element of my recovery as long forgotten feelings and sensations reintroduce themselves to my legs and my ever strengthening toes try desperately to move more and more but take the rest of the day off after a minuscule morning movement of less than a bees in thigh.

My next procedure which will hopefully increase this rate of change and until then I'll be pre-occupied with trying to imagine leg movements, feet kicking, thigh pushing and toe wriggling. All the messages that my brain sends shoot down my spinal chord and are getting themselves lost in the dark chasm of an injury that blocks the highway south. The brain is such a powerful sponge it not only soaks up it can tell its body to release chemicals that in turn attract the miraculously healing stem cells to an injured site. So the more I imagine, the more chemicals are produced and the greater the pull is on the stem cells to the affected area. So there you go.

Ahhhh magical times indeed, yes Sir. I could ramble on aimlessly for hours but instead its back to the excitement for me!

Cheerio from Louis Rowe.

while your waiting for the next update..

http://www.myspace.com/alineoflouis

Crusin'

Well... After one of the most productive weeks of my life (woke up at 8 every morning! read a book, wrote 2 songs and learnt to walk again) things have settled back down to normality, although I'm still getting up early. The next week or so will be focused on correcting and strengthing my gate. I'm walking on the parralell bars (you see in the video) at the moment but soon to be moving onto grandpa's walking frame. Everybody here at the hospital is experiencing great results, its very encouraging to see the like of Sonia Smith (the first Aussie to get stem cells) walking without the use of any equiptment. Dr Geeta Shroff has also just recieved recognition from the US of some kind for her work with Stem Cells, which is great, it means that the day Stem Cell treatment is readily available in Australia is drawing closer.

Cheerio from Louis Rowe

Everyone was doing it...

One SMALL step for a man, one GIANT leep for me!

As wise people say, Actions speak more than words.

ENJOY!

Procedure I

Today started just like any other morning.. too bloody early. Down to Physio at 9am for my workout then wisked away to the main hospital for my first procedure. I was scared and vervous, not about the possible pain as I was reasured there wouldn't be any, but of the possible outcome... "what if nothing happens?" "What if they hit the wrong button and turn everything off?" WHAT IF! So I get to the hospital and change into a robe and after a nail-biting 2 hour wait, my number was up. My face filled with doubt and reservation I made my way to the operatting room, where the Doctor kindly reassured me that I won't feel a thing.
It was like getting a tooth removed from the Dentist, lots of pushing and pulling but no sensations at all.. Then all of a sudden my feet start tingling.. it was like a was wearing concrete shoes, the tingling slowly made its way up the left leg, till it was an unbearable burn. The whole thing only lastest 5 minutes then things started to go back to normal... It was over.. I waited in hope that the doctors would say "Shit look at that!" but nothing. I tried desperatly to kick and wriggle to get some reaction but still nothing... The Doctor said "Hmmm yes, right, ok theres a little something in the toe, do it again." I thought he was humoring me to keep my spirits up, because its all about mind over body, so unwillingly i tried again, and he said the same "Thats great you just moved your foot." It has been a little over 14 months since I have moved anything down that way and still not being able to feel anything my instant reaction was not to believe him. So I was taken back to my room, to start the 5 hour lay down, to let things settle, when the Doctor walked in with Dr. Geeta Shroff, the mastermind behind all the miracle stories. She had a video camera in hand, again I was asked to try and move my feet and legs, the reaction from all the doctors, Sam and Jacqui puzzled me, surely all of them wouldn't be in on this sick joke. "Look at this magic, said Dr Shroff" and as she showed me the video I was astounded, both feet moved a little less than an inch, and my legs came off the bed about 4 inches. As the salt water started to swell in my eyes she added "Oh No, look out! Another emotional Aussie!"
So now we've scrapped the swiss ball idea for Monday, its walking time!
(I'll post a video clip of these once lazy toes soon....ish.)

One of those new high-tech hospital beds.

Settling Down To Business

Its taking 4 satchels of Nescafe before the thought of smiling or communicating with more than a grunt even enters my head, as the early mornings take there toll. The holiday is over now as the physio has been stepped up 3 notches from a gentle morning massage, to a series of strenuous pushes, pulls and lifts, I'm told I need to constantly try to wriggle my toes and move my legs, which is like walking in a pool of fast drying concrete.

Tomorrow will be the 1st of 3 'procedures', where in another hospital I'll recieve an injection straight into the spinal column, just below the injured part. The American girl across the hall recieved her 2nd the other day, she said there was a warm tingle up and down her spine and it took 3 men to hold down her spasming legs.. I was glad she went into so much detail in telling me this. Anyway these babies are supposed to be the big ones, with most people showinggreat improvments after them, so I'm a little nervous especiallyafter hearing her (i'm hoping slightly exaggerated) story.

I've also been fitted out for callipers (walking aids) and from Monday, I'm told I'll be able to sit on a swiss ball, which is a skill that I'm sure will come in very handy. Anyway apart from my growing sarcasm and tiredness things are looking as tho they could be on the up, so until next time, here's hoping.

Cheerio from Louis Rowe

Getting fitted out for Callipers

A local windscreen delivery service

First Injection

Sam with a wise local and his pop

Chicken Maharaja Mac burger

An introduction

It was 5.25 am, the plane was already 45 minutes late, due to slackness. We (myself Louis, mybrother Sam and girlfriend Jacqui) had just touched down in the bustling metropolis villiage of Delhi. the heat was stifling, and the all consuming stench greeted us along with the desperate cries of a hundred taxi drivers. We were rushed through customs with our chosen driver and began our spine-tingling jounry through the centre of the 'city' to our hospital. Once we arrived and relaxed my first thoughts were 'how could stem cells treatment, a true marvel of modern medicine ever had originated in such a backwater?'
Go forward three days and I'm now sitting in my modest room amongst mans basic necesities a bed, tv and fridge, writing this with a much greater understanding of the culture and people and with a much greater hope that this treatment will make some positive changes to my body. In this 4 story apartment block in an inner-city street, there are people from every corner of the earth, all with there own story and a disability or illness of some kind. Some have suffered strokes, some are half blind, some can't walk and others can't do anything but lay there (which is not as good as it sounds) but we have all made epic journey's to this same building for the same compelling reason. Stem Cells. Taken from a petrie dish at almost an instant after a sperm has penetrated an ovum and divided in two these ethicaly acceptable cells have the potential to service the world for an eternity, because they simply keep splitting in two.
A small injection of less than 10ml of these cells twice a day should by all reports be enough to wake up the lazy bottom half of my body. Although after the first 2 days there has been no change it is still only early days, and everbody reacts differently to the cells. Miracle stories that bolster one hope and determination have been past on down from patient to patient "Did you hear about the guy from the UK who was here only 3 months ago, A 42 year old who had been in a chair for 16 years, had one injection in the morning then greeted the doctors standing in his doorway in the afternoon" I'm not sure if these are urban myths started by the doctors or truth, but its enough to keep your mind on the task at hand and off the constant beeping of cars and crowds on the dusty streets below.
So thats it for now, I'll be sure to keep this regularly updated with tales from the sub-continent when i can.
Cheerio from Louis Rowe