Hal Terrell, 80, of Parachute, Colorado was on a battlefield fighting heart disease, an affliction that kills 500,000 each year. Hal, a veteran of World War II had suffered three heart attacks, multiple angiograms and bypass surgery. He had severe angina- simple tasks like taking a shower or moving from one chair to another would bring on an angina attack. His quality of life had deteriorated and things looked bleak, but Hal still vowed he would go down fighting. “My quality of life seemed to be at an end, but I was trying to deal with my situation as best I could.” He stated.
His loyal daughter, Terry, was fighting for him as well. While extensively researching possible treatments for her father, Terry stumbled onto a company in Thailand called TheraVitae. Nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer for 2006, Theravitae is one of the few companies in the world treating heart disease patients with their own stem cells.
Hal made contact with the company and after a family meeting, Hal decided to make the journey to Thailand and have the adult stem cell procedure performed on him. Hal said “we knew it was something I had to do.” Hal arrived at the hospital and 250 cc of his peripheral blood was drawn from his arm in a procedure very similar to a blood donation. The blood was then sent to Theravitae’s lab where Hal’s stem cells were separated from the blood and then multiplied to give Hal’s doctor the ammunition needed to help save Hal’s life.
The stem cells were placed via catheter in a procedure very similar to an angioplasty. Hal says “there was literally no pain involved and only a slight sensation of warmth as the stem cells were implanted into my coronary arteries.” The procedure was over within one hour and Hal was discharged from the hospital and able to return to his hotel room just two days after the procedure.
Treated in November, 2006, Hal is doing “just great.” He proudly claims he can do things he could not do before. Hal gets around with very little limitation. “Prior to the procedure, I couldn’t get across the room without popping one of those little white nitro pills for my angina. I haven’t taken more than a dozen nitro in the past six months!” Hal exclaimed.
Hal concludes “I can attest to the fact that the stem cells are working for me. It was the biggest decision, the biggest adventure of my entire life, and I can truly say I am the better for it.”
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