Today Jason and I met with Dr. Amit Patel, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Utah. I read about a clinical trial he's doing for patients with congestive heart failure, and was excited by the prospect of not just "managing" Jason's heart failure, but actually curing it.
Over the past few weeks, we collected and sent in all of Jason's many medical records and today we were able to finally meet with Dr. Patel.
So far, Jason meets all the requirements to qualify for the research study. In this study, they extract bone marrow from the patient and send it to a biosciences firm where the stem cells are cultured and grown for 12 days. Once the strong cells have flourished, the patient is brought back in and the stem cells are injected into the damaged heart muscle via a catheter. The cool part is, these stem cells have actually been shown to repair the heart muscle. Nothing like this has ever been a possibility before. It's amazing how far medical advancements have come, even in the last 5 years.
Jason signed the pre-screening consent form today, and now the sponsor has to approve his participation. We should hear back by Friday, and if he's approved they'll start doing tons of tests on him to make sure he meets all the physical requirements.
I am trying so so hard not to get excited about the possibility of my husband being strong and healthy again. We've faced so many disappointments, and I'm trying not to get my hopes up.
So can I just cross my fingers, just a little?
If you're interested, here's the link with the news article and video clip about the study:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9861660
2 comments:
I am so so so happy for you guys!!! I hope it gives you some much deserved happy results :)
I am so excited, and also having a hard time not just getting so excited for you guys! You are in our prayers, and we really hope this works for Jason! Wow, the things they can do now.
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