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Beike Biotechnology Co. Ltd.,
Beike (pronounced Bay-Ka) is a China based biotechnology company with headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Beike is a private company but it does operate under close supervision and with strong support from various departments of the Chinese government. Beike has received about (USD) $5 million in Chinese government grants. As a biotechnology company on the leading edge of regenerative medical technology, Beike is dedicated to developing and providing technologies and protocols for safe, effective treatments utilizing adult stem cells with a focus on cord blood-derived stem cell therapy. Beike has partnered with 30 leading hospitals across China, leading scientists and over 250 doctors specializing in delivering stem cell therapy for neurological and vascular ailments
The stem cell technology has been used in over 13,000+ stem cell transplants since 2001 and their network of scientists have over 100 publications in leading Chinese journals. Beike Biotech has developed specialized treatment programs for twelve ailments and injuries that are utilized in hospitals to treat over 200 patients every month.Following is a list of the twelve ailments presently listed with Beike, where specialized protocols have been established.
Ataxia, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Diabetic Foot, Femoral Head Necrosis, Lower Limb Ischemia, Motor Neuron Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Optic Nerve Conditions, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Spinal Cord Injury, and Stoke. Other diseases now also being treated are ALS, Parkinson, Batten’s Disease, Huntington’s disease, Brain Injury, West Nile, Syringomyelia, LHON Disease, and many more. (Above information was supplied in the Beike New Patient Information Packet).
Our initial contact with Beike was through email. We received immediate responses at all times and were assigned a patient representative to work with. They were very helpful when we first began our investigation of Stem Cell Treatments for Matt, answering our many questions. Other information we received from outside of Beike regarding Beike and their stem cell research and subsequent treatment plans were very positive. A large pharmaceutical company in the US is working to establish protocol with Beike, to become the US provider of stem cells in the future. All information we received informed us that Beike is, in fact, the premier leader in the world for these treatments.
Upon arrival in China, we were met with professionalism and great kindness from all the Beike Staff. Greeted at the airport by our driver and interpreter, we were taken to the hospital and our room – our new home for the next several weeks. After a quick visit from the nightly on staff doctor, and as we had had a late night arrival (we had been traveling for nearly 15 hours), we were left to rest until the next day. In the morning we soon met many nurses, doctors and interpreters, who worked to check us in, go over our medical reports we were providing, and do a checkup on Matt. Shortly after, we had our finalized treatment plan established for the next six weeks. They wasted no time getting Matt on the rotation schedule for treatment. Within a couple days of our arrival we traveled into the central part of the city of Qingdao for an MRI and special eye tests that are performed at the Eye Institute of Qingdao. This would give us the baseline to work from, regarding improvements in Matt’s vision.
Matt was scheduled to start treatments that Wednesday. As all patients receive for the first treatment the stem cells via IV injection, we were both excited and scared. By this time we had met many of the other patients and caregivers, and were completely assured that all would be well. We were told by many the first treatment was the easiest. Indeed, this was true and Matt was able to suck those stem cells through his IV in about 20 minutes. Later infusions took much longer. He breezed right though the treatment and felt fine for a couple of days. On day three, as became the pattern, he would feel flu like symptoms and stay in bed most of the day.
This gives you an idea of our first few days in China, and if anyone is interested in more information regarding Beike treatments for all the diseases mentioned above, please feel free to contact me. We believe in this treatment and want to share all information we have gathered to anyone who is interested in pursuing this for themselves or other family and friends looking for healing and a better quality of life.
November 19th, 2009
The gift of sight, as many of you who have suffered eye conditions know, is truly a gift. Many sighted people take for granted this gift and what all comes with it. For those who live with diminished sight, a great understanding of this gift occurs, when sight becomes possible. This is where we are in gaining sight through umbilical cord blood stem cells. We believe in and know for fact that sight restoration and improvement (and healing of many other diseases) can come from stem cell treatment.
Matt and I spent six weeks in China from June 28, 2009 until August 6, 2009 at the People’s Republic Hospital in Qingdao, China. During this time Matt received eight stem cell treatments, of which two were his own bone marrow stem cells. He had four treatments by IV and four treatments by Spinal Puncture. His treatments were spaced four or so days apart. He began his treatments on Wednesday July 1st, with treatments thereafter rotating on Monday, Friday and Wednesday, until we left China August 6th to return home.
There are several different aspects of this journey I want to share. First and foremost is the Beike Biotechnology Medical and Health treatment program. I believe this is of utmost importance to all, as Stem Cell Therapy is and should be the medicine of the future. Secondly, the daily living in a foreign country, especially in a hospital, this is our personal adventure and it allows for some great stories. The third area of interest is to explore the culture of China and how differently the Chinese live compared to Americans, from our eyes. And of course, the whole reason we went – to give the gift of (more) sight to Matt. We want to discuss and share his healing story, as well as, many other people’s healing stories, the people we met and lived with for six weeks. Our journey crossed paths with people from all over the world. These are people individually on their own journey for healing. These stories are about people who are living with so many different diseases and looking for their hope at a better life. Because of Stem Cell Therapy these people are now enjoying a better quality of life. With these people we saw daily miracles of healing.
Matt’s Success so Far
Matt started noticing better sight after two treatments. Across the street from the hospital was a bright red big neon dragon sign. We could see this out of our hospital room window. Upon arrival, Matt could see a big red blob of color – not distinguishable at this point. After his first IV injection, and following lumbar puncture treatments he was able to determine it was a dragon. As Kris and I had not mentioned the sign, being busy with all the other things we were taking in, it surprised us both that he could now see what the sign really was. Matt then had his own bone marrow removed and the stem cells injected by both IV and lumbar puncture on the rotating schedule. Following both these treatments, he began to see clearer, had more focus for longer distances and could now recognize faces of people down the hall. (It seems at first that all Chinese faces look alike, so this was a great achievement.) He also moved back three meters and could see the symbols on the eye chart. Dr Chen had recorded his sight on our first day and now three weeks later, after testing with Dr. Tony, he had doubled his distance for seeing the same symbols. He noticed that his clarity was better, his color (especially blue and green) were more distinguishable. And his peripheral vision was improved. These are small improvements, but definitely something to be excited about.
Now that we are home, he continues to improve in small increments. He attended the Lyons Football home game and barbeque. For the first time ever he watched the whole game without his binoculars. He stated he could see the ball and track which players were doing what. This is a big accomplishment. On the first session of games with his bowling league, he bowled a 194 – highest score ever for him. He said he could see the pins and it wasn’t just a big blob of white at the end of the alley. He could see the picket fence. He could now focus better on hitting the pins left standing. Although, actually, he didn’t leave many pins standing because he was throwing strikes!
So now we are in the waiting game. Stem cells take about nine months to grow. He hasn’t really noticed anything significant for the last couple of weeks. Probably at this point the brain is learning to keep up with the changes that are occurring. And possibly the small increases in time will all at once hit him and he’ll have another break through. We just continue to have faith and know that more is coming and we must be patient.
Article was written and published in our local newspaper – Lyons Recorder)
November 19th, 2009
Our trip to China turned out to be more than we could have ever imagined, from the new technology of stem cell treatment to the new friends we made from around the world. We were among many different families of various cultural backgrounds all seeking the same thing, hope for a better future. We met families from all across the world, and all of them with amazing stories. I was particularly touched by one Mom, trying to improve life for her young daughter, Yusrah. They had lived in Houston, Texas for several years and spoke very good English, but were now living back home, in the small country of Oman. An Arabic country where the language is Farsi, she was determined to have her daughter’s first language be English, so her daughter would be able to speak for herself when necessary and be able to obtain the help she would need in her life. Because of this they spoke English in their home. Mom wore the traditional clothing with a brightly colored head scarf. As Matt and Yusrah shared an IV treatment time, we spoke directly for nearly one hour. On the stemcellschina.com website right now is Yusrah’s story. Born with Cerebral Palsy and living with diminished vision caused by optic nerve atrophy, and struggling with very poor motor skills, she now rejoices in success from the treatment.
Also, from Farsi speaking Libya was a family, man and wife, and a brother. The woman wore the traditional black berka all the time, with only her eyes visible. Her husband was there for treatment and was in a wheelchair. The brother did all the talking as the woman was very submissive, and only after two or three weeks, did she begin to make eye contact with people and would then nod. When going out she always walked several steps behind, unless she was pushing the wheelchair. I always tried to be friendly and acknowledge everyone; unfortunately these people were hard to converse with. Kris did have a limited conversation with the brother at one point, but mostly we got the feeling they didn’t like Americans very much. They had a Chinese Farsi speaking interpreter, who also spoke no English, so other than a nod or general greeting, conversations didn’t happen.
Another Muslim family from Jordan was there for treatment for their mother, who was becoming blind. Her daughter and son were there with her. They used the same Chinese Farsi speaking interpreter as the Libya family. Matt and I traveled downtown to the Eye Institute of Qingdao with this family and their interpreter. The older woman was having trouble maneuvering in and out of the vehicle, the stairs at the clinic, and later after dilation of the eyes, seeing the curb as we walked back to the vehicle. The men did not assist this woman, at least until the daughter shouted for assistance, as the mom began to fall. It was very hard for Matt and I to watch this, we wanted to help, but stayed out of their situation, as we understand this is their culture, where the men are dominant and the women do the work.
Aside from these Arab countries, we people from Romania. Very limited English was spoken, but usually one person in the family could converse. Christoff, 39 years old, from Romania, was there for Multiple Sclerosis. He arrived with two arm crutches, and gained so much strength while there; on the day he departed he was able to walk out without using them. He was an inspiration to all, always upbeat and positive, and he worked very hard with all his Physical Therapy and Acupuncture, never missing a treatment. We went on several outing with him and his wife, and enjoyed their company immensely. Another Romanian family, a teenage girl was there with her mom, and she spoke fair English. She was being treated for Spinal Dystrophy, and was such a loving girl, always playing with the little kids. She would give them wheelchair rides, which they loved!
We became very close to a mother, June and her daughter Nanna, from Switzerland. We roomed next door to each other. Nanna was being treated for vision also, so we had lots in common. We helped June practice her English, as it was rusty. Nanna is having great success in doubling her distance vision and slowing down her Nystagmus (shaky eye syndrome).
We met so many people from the United States, and became close to them all. We loved our little Rayanna, a small child of 4, with the biggest personality I’ve ever met! She filled the room with love and joy. Her disability, Spinal Muscular Dystrophy, didn’t stop her from getting around. She would say to me when Matt was in the room in bed, “Let’s go see Matt”, or “Take me to see Matt”. She had to be carried when not in her chair, so I’d scoop her up and off we’d go. Matt always loved her visits. By the end of Rayanna’s time in China, she had gained complete upper body strength, and was walking down the hall on her knees pushing a small stroller. She had never done this before, and would exclaim, “I’m fixing to go visit the nurses” at the nurses station that was close by. She had gained enough strength in her thighs and hips to do this. Her lower legs would probably never support her weight, but her mom, Ronda, felt especially excited about this improvement.
Kyle from Louisiana, arrived at the Qingdao airport the same day we did, and we shared the trip to the hospital with him and his mom and grandma. We immediately bonded with them. Kris and Kyle took to each other quickly, playing cards and visiting. He was a wonderful kid, from Louisiana, also with Spinal Muscular Dystrophy. He had a strong southern accent and was so much fun to listen to. He was very sad when Kris had to leave, as they had spent so much time together and became great buddies. From the treatments he gained enough strength to roll over on the bed, sit up and reach into the cabinet and get the brownies, which he had been told he couldn’t have until after dinner! His mom, Trish, was hard pressed to scold him, as he hadn’t rolled over and sat up on his own for more than half of his eleven years.
We met little Vianca, with her mom and Grandma from Denver. She was nine months old and not progressing like infants should. She had never rolled over, or sat up, or crawled and was not verbalizing. She had diminished vision. After several treatments, she began to wake up. Her mom said, “I can’t get her to sleep” and we all believed she was so excited about all the new things she was discovering, she didn’t want to sleep anymore! She soon rolled over, and when placed in her stroller she would play with toys endlessly, never fussing, with the ability to now track toys and reach for them. Toward the end of our stay in China, we went out to dinner with several families to a local restaurant, Mom laid Vianca down in the stroller, hoping she would sleep – but she had a different idea, she sat up and wanted to “see” what was going on. All of us there witnessed this action, and what a joy, a miracle right before our eyes. This was her first time to ever sit up on her own.
Lawrence from Texas was there also this summer, and his story is written on the stem cell website. It was very exciting the day he came back from a walk and said he saw flowers for the first time in their vivid colors of red and blue. He is continuing to gain more sight. He was there with his mom and sister. His sister Amani has a disease where she grows no hair; she received two treatments, and was very hopeful when she sprouted two hairs, one on her head and one on her arm.
We met Kyle Knopes, a teenager from Wisconsin, with his brother, Andrew and mom, Penny, there to help with the care giving. Andrew would give his brother Kyle the usually teasing and troubles that come from an older brother, but if something was wrong, Andrew was always the first one there to protect and help – a true brotherly bond. Andrew is studying to become a male nurse and wants to work with disabled children. Kyle just wants to have relief from joint pain and other problems caused by his Spinal Muscular Dystrophy. He told us how he now was much more comfortable following his treatments and that he was now able to open his right hand. He could also roll over and sit up in bed, which he says he hadn’t been able to do since he was very young.
Kit from Oklahoma, injured as a teenager in a car accident, was back for his 2nd series of treatments for his spinal injury. He had so much improvement from the 1st series of treatments in 2008, he came back for more! His story in listed on stemcellschina.com website.
These stories go on and on. I’ve tried to share the most revealing or exciting ones we witnessed. But, there are many more, it would take weeks to share each and every one. The bottom line, the definitive answer too many people’s prayers, is that Umbilical Stem Cell Treatment works. It is my belief that this treatment will come to the United States sometime in the future, maybe not for 10 years or so, but it will come. It is the medicine of the future.
(Article written for and published in our local newspaper – Lyons Recorder)
November 18th, 2009
Many of our friends and those interested in our trip often ask us, “Where did you stay while in China?”, and also “Did you stay in a Hotel?” This was not the case at all. We actually lived in the Hospital. Floor eight and nine in the east wing of Qingdao People’s Hospital were designated for only Beike patients and their caregivers. We had a designated elevator that only went to these two floors. There were 32+ rooms set-up for patients and their caregivers. These rooms were all occupied by Beike patients, with only a couple rooms empty at a time. When one patient/family would leave, within a couple of days another one would arrive. There was a constant turn over of people. The length of a patients stay was from 4 weeks to 6 weeks. The difference in the length of the stay was determined by the illness/disease that was being treated.
In each room were a regular hospital bed and a double sized bed for the caregiver. Also, some rooms were set-up with a baby crib or a roll-away. Sometimes the whole family would come and there were 4-5 people per room. This made for very crowded rooms, as these rooms were the typical hospital room size we have here in the U.S. A large bathroom that would accommodate a wheelchair was standard in each room.
In our room was a microwave, a mini refrigerator, DVD player (of which ours didn’t work), and small sized TV that was centered about 8 feet high on the wall I understand you could view Chinese TV in some rooms, but we couldn’t figure out how to work the one in our room. On the exterior wall of the room was a large operable window which made for great viewing of the surrounding area. We did have air conditioning, which only was on in the day, turned off at night and sometimes off during the day for maintenance. We also had an oscillating floor fan we used constantly.
In the center area of the wing, on each floor was a common area, where we regularly gathered for conversation and story sharing. We would celebrate birthdays together here and during our stay we celebrated July 4th. The nurses stations was here and whenever we wanted to leave the hospital we were required to sign-out the patient; caregivers could come and go as they pleased. There was a common small kitchen for cooking. This was a very limited facility with only two hot plates to cook on, no stove. There was a microwave, toaster oven, griddle, and George Forman type grill. A small sink was used for hand washing the dishes without hot water available. A common refrigerator and water cooler were off to the side where there was a dining room for seating of 10 or so.
Also in the common area was a WII for entertainment, an area full of different kids toys, and a book shelf with lots of English reading material (books, magazines, newspapers – of which some were two years old), two computers with internet access for all to share and a small office where the interpreters could be found at almost anytime in the day or night (unless it was lunch time and then no one was to be found!) A doctor’s office and cleaning supply room were just down the hall.
Other areas that were used daily were the Physical Therapy room and the Occupational Therapy room. Acupuncture and electrical wave therapy (Occupational Therapy) were part of our daily routine. Matt did not receive Physical Therapy. Also, on the 9th floor was a recreation area, equipped with a ping pong table, a treadmill and stationery bike. We spent very little time in this area, as it was usually crowded with the Chinese patients, who kept to themselves and took over this area.
Our daily routine would be to wake up early, sometimes with the nurses at the door coming in to check on their patient, Matt. The practice was to take everyone’s temperature first thing in the morning, check the vital signs and give us our marching orders for the day. If it was stem cell day, they would come back by mid morning to insert the IV port, if it was an off day, we would be heading out to the market, or a sightseeing trip, or as we mostly did, staying put and spending the day in the common area visiting with others, or staying in bed, as Matt had to do quite often. We would have breakfast in our room, cooking in the microwave, oatmeal or scrambled eggs with maybe a roll or toast or fried potatoes previously cooked. We would have lunch later, by ordering in from the fast food restaurants that would deliver to the hospital, or cooking (a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches) in the small kitchen, if we could get a place in line. Dinner was again a waiting game to get a spot in the kitchen, or order in fast food again. We did go out to a few different restaurants, but in 6 weeks, I believe we only went out 4-5 times to do this. Bedtime was usually around 10-11 pm, depending on what was going on in the common area. We often watched videos on the computer in our room. We had taken several videos with us and also we exchanged our videos with others. Someone had the Season One Heroes TV program, which Matt and I enjoyed for a couple of weeks – watching all of the season’s episodes.
Stem Cell injection days were quite exciting. And you could feel the excitement in the air from the Doctors, nurses, interpreters, and the patients – especially when it was their day for treatment. These days were very busy times for all, caregivers rushing around getting food ready. Patients had instructions to eat a certain amount of time before the treatment. Patients would attend to their own personal needs, especially on a day of the lumbar puncture, as they would have to be in bed 6-7 hours following the treatment. The stem cells would arrive in a cooler (similar to how transplant organs are carried) around 2pm, and so we would ready ourselves according to this time clock. These days were always full of hope and excitement, as we knew we were all pioneers in this treatment.
As we gathered in the common area to visit and share healing stories, we often joked about our accommodations. We liked to pretend we were on - Survivor China. We also called it camping indoors, because of the inadequate kitchen, lack of hot water at times, and hot and humid air, when the air conditioner was not working. We noticed how often the nurses sat in the dark at the nurses station, because of their need to conserve electricity. We would be in the dark too, but some of the more aggressive personalities would defy the Chinese government and turn on the lights! But these gathering times were ones of companionship, hope and camaraderie. We became family!
Our new family members were from Australia, England, Switzerland, Italy, China, Malaysia, Oman, Jordan, Libya, Ireland and from the United States; Montana, Louisiana, Texas, Michigan, Washington, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, California, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Illinois and Iowa. We loved and enjoyed meeting all these wonderful people!
(Article was written for and published in our local newspaper – Lyons Recorder)
November 18th, 2009
It’s time to get caught up again. Matt is doing real well, working hard at Walmart and basically enjoying himself. He’s gained all his lost weight back and looks very healthy. No more green color for him! Since coming home he has not had any problems with his stomach. This was something he was bothered by continually all the time prior to our China visit. His sensitive digestive system has not flaired up since returning home. If the stem cells have anything to do with this, it’s great! Although, we did prefer to have them develop the optic nerves, but hey, this side effect is great too!
Matt has not had any significant visual improvements for the last couple of weeks. We believe we are in a holding pattern, as the brain tries to catch up with the vision. He continues to maintain what he received before, more clarity, more distance measured in yards, and better color distinction (where he was weak in greens and blues), and better focus.
He is happy and healthy and enjoying life right now. His confidence in continued stem cell growth is strong, as is his faith. We will continue to pray for continued improvement.
As for all our new China friends, we wish you all well and continued growth and improvement too. To the Beike Staff, a hello to all and just a word again of thanks and to keep up the good work! You are appreciated from afar.
Diana
September 29th, 2009
Hi all, Just wanted to catch up with our news after returning home about three weeks ago. We took quite a while to settle in to our normal routines. We were just exhausted from the whole trip, I think. Matt is doing real well now. He lost about 15-20 pounds while we were in China, but has regained all most all of it back now. He can eat well again, and does all the time! He continues to have small minor vision improvements. He belongs to a bowling league and they started their team play last week, and he scored a 194 – his highest score every. He said it is because he can now see the remaining pins that are left standing and can aim better to get them all. His comment, “I can see the picket fence”, which in bowling language means several pins left standing in a row. So he continues to have little improvements in his daily life. We continue to be patient for further improvements and know they will come in God’s time, not ours.
To all our new friends across the world I want to say a special hello from us and we treasure our time spent with each an everyone of you! We miss you all. Love and continued growth to each of you.
Diana
August 31st, 2009
My mom and I made it to California yesterday. It was a rough trip for me and her because I was sick on both flights. I was not expecting that at all. I thought that I would be fine all the way to California but I was wrong. I am feeling better today though. I think that it was just a reaction to my last treatment and from all the travel. I will be able to eat real food again hopefully today sometime. Bye for now Matt
August 8th, 2009
My mom and I packed all day today and gace away our gifts to all the staff. I finished up my therapys and packed some more. My mom and I just finished eating our last dinner here of ordering out food. We are so excited to finally leave China. We are headed to California tomorrow for two and a half days before we return to Colorado on Sunday. We are looking forward to real American food tomorrow night. It has been a long month here. I miss all my friends and coworkers at work. I will be on my blog once I get to Calofornia. Bye for now Matt
August 5th, 2009
I had my last spinal yesterday which was monday here in China. It went fine. I was in and out in fifteen minutes. Today I went downtown to have an eye exam at the clinic that I went to when I first got here. I think that I got better results this time than last time. My mom and I just got back from walking to a local french market down the way from the hospital. It was very nice. We bought muffins, poumd cake and another type of cake with raspberry topping. Tonight my mom and I are going to The Holiday Inn for dinner with several other families. I think that it will be fun. This will be our first time eating there for dinner. One more day left and we are out of here back to California. Bye for now Matt
August 4th, 2009
We have come through the final treatment with flying colors. At least so far, Matt is up and moving around quite well today. He is going around and getting everyone’s emails right now - as we only have today and tomorrow, and we leave on Thursday. What a wonderful experience we have had here. We’ve met so many wonderful people from all over the world. We have new friends from Switzerland, England, Oman, Australia, Ireland, China and of course the USA. We have meet people from Maryland, California, Washington, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, and New York – just to name a few states. We have laughed, cried, listened, complained, walked, shared meals, gone sightseeing and lived with many different people. We are truely blessed by all we’ve experienced here. But, it is so exciting to come home and share all this with our awaiting family and friends. So much to tell everyone, we are bursting at the seams! Matt is so loved by all here, he has captured the hearts of many of the nurses, touched many other patients and families with his kindness and understanding, and a few of the little kids have taken to him, exclaiming each time they see me – “Where’s Matt!” We have one shopping trip left to Lotte Mart across the street today, to pick up some chocolate for the staff - they love Dove Chocolate which can be purchased here. It is expensive for them to buy, but really less expensive here than at home. I have bracelets I had made in Colorado to give to all the nurses and hopefully will have enough to go around. (Thanks to Kim Sims and her wonderful jewelry designs). We love you all and look forward to seeing everyone. We are so homesick – but Skype and especially all the emails and comments have helped get us through! God Bless you all, you all are the best friends ever! Diana
August 4th, 2009
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