Medical Miracles

C. H. Lewis writes of Canon Andrew White: “He’s a little wobbly on his feet, and a little slurred in his speech, but he has MS after all—we all have our limitations.”

Canon Andrew was diagnosed with MS in 1998. Since that time, he has continued his work of reconciliation and relief without faltering and has achieved more than many healthy people in the last decade. As with many other MS sufferers, he has learned through trial and error over time various treatments and medicines that help to ease the symptoms and has been a source of inspiration and encouragement to MS sufferers across the globe.

However, in recent months, Canon Andrew has been the subject of what could be a major break-through treatment for MS. And the irony is, that this treatment has only been possible in his beloved, yet war-torn city of Baghdad. Using a machine bought for the Baghdad Bone-Marrow Transplant Centre by the International Centre of Reconciliation in Coventry while Canon Andrew himself was working there, his own bone marrow was extracted and he is now undergoing a radical new surgery involving stem-cell spinal injections – a procedure not currently available in the UK or the US. Canon Andrew himself takes up the tale:

“I, like most MS suffers, have tried so much to find a solution to my deteriorating condition. I am so committed to my work here in Iraq that I feel I have to find a solution. I have tried all the options available and none of them have worked on their own. Then one afternoon not very long ago, a friend of mine, Dr Majid, who runs the Bone Marrow Transplant Centre here in Baghdad came to see me. I have worked very closely with him even before the last war. I helped him establish the Bone-Marrow Transplant Unit and even brought him to the UK in 2001 for training in Bone-Marrow Transplant techniques. He could see my deteriorating state and he said he wanted to try and help me.

I asked him what he had in mind. He had clearly researched the matter fully and he said that he thought that the only solution was Stem Cell treatment. He had done several Stem Cell transplants before but never for MS. I said I would agree for him to try. The stem cells would all come from me so I had no ethical problems with the technique. Five days before the procedure I had two injections a day to increase the number of my own stem cells.

On the fifth day the army arrived to take me to hospital. I was taken in an armoured car surrounded by military vehicles. The hospital looked far worse even than when I last saw it. Surrounded by soldiers with guns, I made my way to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. At least this was clean. There, in an almost sterile environment, both my arms were cannulised and I was connected to the blood cell separator. The blood was taken from one arm, stem cells were removed and the blood returned to my other arm.

This process alone took nearly two hours. Once completed, the stem cells were taken and injected into my cerebra spinal space by Lumber Puncture. Three hours later the treatment was completed and I returned to my trailer in Baghdad's Green Zone. It did not seem quite real that in the midst of a war zone and such devastation I had had such high-tech treatment.

Within a matter of hours I started to feel different. The first thing I noticed was that for the first time in years I could brush my teeth without trouble. People soon started telling me that I looked different. Three weeks later I returned back to England. My wife could not believe how different I looked. Usually, it is never more than two days after I return that I go really downhill. This time it did not happen, I thought it would, but for the week I was in the UK I was the best I had been for several years. Being a regular taker of Prokarin, I eventually removed the Prokarin skin patch. Within a day and a half I started to feel ill again. I put the patch back on and within a short while I felt well again. So I have come to the conclusion that there are three components that have contributed to the success of my treatment:

1.        The Prokarin Patch

2.        My vitamin and mineral treatment from my private neurologist in London

3.        The Stem Cell treatment in Baghdad”

Canon Andrew will continue to have this treatment every 5 weeks over a duration of 6 months. To continue following the story of his treatment, you can sign up for his regular updates at the top right of this page.