Around My Old House: Why Regenexx Stem Cell? Cuz I'm a Pioneer (or just plain crazy!)

In my last post, I told the story of how I injured my knee, and how I discovered the Regenexx stem cell procedure.
And I told you that I had a decision to make: go with Regenexx, or re-schedule the traditional surgery.

(At this point, I want to make it clear that I am not getting paid by Regenexx, nor am I trying to promote this procedure as the end-all-be-all. Although, you'll notice I tend to be quite enthusiastic about this. But please understand I realize this procedure can't fix everything. However, I am very hopeful it will fix my injury!
I've had SO many people interested to see how this works for me, that I decided it would be beneficial to blog about it. I am always excited about new technology and discoveries, and if my experience will ultimately help others, then I'd like people to know this is an option.)

So, having said that, let me address each procedure:

Traditional Surgery:

When I inquired of our insurance and what my out-of-pocket expenses would be for traditional surgery, I was told it would be between $3,000-$5,000. That's a lot of money, and it was hard to believe I would pay that much. However, when my husband had to see our family doctor shortly after this, I mentioned the estimate to him. He informed me that he recently had similar knee surgery, and his out-of-pocket cost was $5,000!
The orthopaedic surgeon had also told me that, depending on how much of the meniscus they would have to remove, it would determine how fast the knee would degrade over time from the resulting arthritis. I could be looking at a knee replacement later in life. If a simple surgery would cost me $5,000, how much will a knee replacement cost me in 20 years? Let's not even discuss what it will cost to relieve the arthritic pain with medication after surgery!

Regenexx:

When I inquired of the Regenexx procedure, the doctor, Dr. Shiple, of The Center For Sports Medicine, looked at my MRI I had sent, and a phone consultation was set up. He explained to me that I was a perfect candidate for the Regenexx procedure. He walked me through the whole process, explaining the how and the why. He said that, even though he's been doing this procedure successfully for the last three years, it is still considered experimental, and therefore, it is NOT covered under insurance. However, the brace and the crutches I would need would be covered under insurance, but those are a minor expense. My heart was in my chest--it could be anything: $10,000? $50,000? Come on, doc, tell me what it is!
As long as it was a simple meniscus tear repair, my total cost would be: $6,000. I breathed a sigh of relief! Why, you say?? It's $6,000! That's a lot of money too, and as I already mentioned, it's not covered by insurance.
When I heard the amount, I was considering the $6,000 compared to costs in the long run of traditional surgery.
Let me make a comparison list for you:

As for the success rate, Dr Shiple explained that naturally it depends on the extent of the injury/condition.
In my case, the doctor said that he felt the existing arthritic conditions in my knee would contribute to the pain from my torn meniscus. He is therefore treating the arthritis with stem cells. He is also treating a ligament that I apparently damaged when I fell.
The success rate for mild to moderate arthritis is in the 90 percentile. As the arthritis becomes more severe, the success rate goes down accordingly: 80, 70, to 60% for more severe cases.
If my meniscus tear was a simple tear as he originally thought, the success rate is in the 90 percentile.
However, when he had examined me with ultrasound, he found I had a herniated medial torn meniscus (I'll explain more about this in the next post). The success rate for my particular meniscus injury therefore goes down. As far as I know, the tear itself is still in the 90 percentile success rate. However, the herniation goes down to 75%.
If there is partial success, I have the option to repeat the entire procedure to repair the injury further.

As I considered all of this, I knew what my decision would be, and of course that would be Regenexx!
I had already known that the Lord allowed me to find this procedure, so going ahead with it was an easy decision!
I do have one naysayer. They've said I'm crazy to do such a thing, and that this procedure is 'quackery.'

Yes, this procedure is still experimental; the success rate is not 100%. Am I crazy? Maybe. Instead, I'd like to think I'm a pioneer, one of those willing to take a chance, so that others can benefit from this down the road! Is this procedure quackery? I don't believe it for a minute!

Can I say I'm not scared at all? No! In fact, I do have moments when I'm quite scared! But I have no doubt that God has ordained this path for me. I have no doubt that He allowed me to find out about this procedure just days before I was to have the traditional surgery (I don't believe such a thing can be 'coincidence'. In fact, I don't believe in 'coincidences' at all, but rather that God is in complete control of all our lives!). I take comfort that He is guiding my steps:

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9(NIV)

And also that I need not fear or worry about anything:

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

And so, when I am suddenly overcome by fears of 'what if it doesn't work?' and 'Perhaps I am crazy!', I give my fears to the Only One who can take them away, the Only One who is in control. When I give Him my all my fears, the only thing that's crazy is the amazing peace He gives in return. I'll take that kind of crazy any day!