About This Blog

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From the trenches of our own personal experiences inside the medical maze, this growing group of bloggers is ecstatic to contribute to a blog which we hope will become a home to so many elbowing their way through the rough and rugged world of healthcare (or lack thereof). full story

Newest Articles

Balancing Act: Living With an Invisible Illness

Posted 5 days 17 hours ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Lyme Disease, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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I'm writing this partly for self-sanity, partly for all the other Lyme patients brave enough to embark on this journey of healing and up against one of the most difficult challenges in their lifetime: being misunderstood.

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The Exploding Head Scare

Posted 1 week 4 days ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Lyme Disease, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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A couple of days ago, I started getting a little cold....and then severe pain on the left side of my face and head. Not like a headache, but my skin was burning and it felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife. This sensation used to happen to me when I would get shingles on my face....and subsequently, because I've had them so many times, I have post neuralgia pain there. If I get sick with a cold or my body is burdened in a similar instance, the pain can return like a bad dream.

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A Little Light On The Path

Posted 2 weeks 4 days ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Lyme Disease, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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There are several Lyme Disease patients receiving human embryonic stem cell treatment over in India now, and I feel this subtle yet frequent tug on my heart, as if part of me is literally with them. Through their struggles, I feel my own experiences re-emerge in my head….all of the things that kept me up at night wondering how this whole thing was going to turn out.

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An Embryonic Milestone; My One Year Mark

Posted 3 weeks 4 days ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Lyme Disease, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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As I fell asleep last night, I realized it had been exactly one year since I boarded a plane with my parents, wobbly balance, in nearly unmanageable pain, destined for Delhi....and an entirely new life I didn't know existed. Today I woke up to the one year mark of my very first embryonic stem cell injection which was administered by Dr. Ashish Verma at Nu Tech Mediworld.

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The Not So Positive, Positive

Posted 4 weeks 3 days ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Lyme Disease, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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I have been debating about whether or not to write this post. When I first got this news, I had to hold it and sit with it and decide what it meant to me for awhile. I had to keep the information as “all mine.” It’s a definite balance for me to be both public in this journey, and private at the same time.

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Woman gets a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells

Posted 6 weeks 4 days ago by Lynn Truong

Stem cells

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Claudia Castillo, a 30-year old Colombian woman suffered from tuberculosis for years and needed regular hospital visits to clear her airways. After a severe collapse of her left lung, doctors thought they would have to remove the entire left lung. Instead, they transplanted a windpipe with tissue grown from the patient's own stem cells, eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs.

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From Sickness To Stem Cells To Closure At Last

Posted 8 weeks 1 day ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Lyme Disease, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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This long journey has been full of so many things.....except one. Closure. But, today was my day. I went back to finish what started so many years ago (covered in an obnoxious amount of tick spray of course).

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Life as a Type 2 Diabetic - Part 1

Posted 12 weeks 6 days ago by Andrea Dickson

Diabetes

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It used to be fairly unusual to be under 20 years old and have Type 2 diabetes. In fact, when I would tell people that I was diabetic, they would immediately assume that I was a Type 1. These days, it's really common to meet kids who are Type 2 diabetics.

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The Happy-Birthday-To-Me Letter!

Posted 15 weeks 2 days ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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I can’t believe I know that I will wake up tomorrow, on my big day, in no pain. It seems celebration days were always the worst. I’m not sure what kind of lesson that could have been but the dependability of the pattern was uncanny.

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Medical Freedom: Hand Delivered

Posted 16 weeks 3 days ago by Amy B. Scher

The India Story, Lyme Disease, Stem cells, Amy's journey

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I have the strangest feeling of complete freedom; despite a normally fear-inducing circumstance. I lost my health insurance this month. The details aren’t important, but I will state it isn’t my fault and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I don’t usually contend well with these sturdy inabilities to change things, but it is what it is.

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