Okay, to continue this story.

(First, thanks for the sympathies kiwi33 but thankfully they're no longer needed as you'll soon see)

My next decision I had to make was, do I go with the Regenexx (RGX for brevity) doctor/facility (they actually have one within a few miles of where I work) or go with my orthopedic surgeon? Clearly, the RGX team have exponentially more experience and their equipment is unmatched. When they do their extraction of stem cells (called "aspiration" or "bone marrow aspiration") they separate the cells and actually COUNT how many SC's they have and ensure they have a certain number (can't recall what that number is). They also extract blood from a vein in your arm and spin that down for a highly concentrated concoction of PRP. Their research suggests that the combination of PRP and SC helps the SC last longer in the joint. The PRP provides a very friendly environment for the SC's...but we couldn't find any documentation in their library to corroborate this claim.

So, I visited the local clinic and, quite frankly, did not like the doctor (he was cold, "all-knowing", wouldn't listen to me, cut me off, etc.) and I left quite convinced if he wouldn't listen to me now there's a chance he wouldn't listen to me if I moved forward with his center. Not to mention his price was exactly twice as expensive as my Ortho doc.

Back to Dr. Ortho I went, and I scheduled. I specifically asked her to "bathe the (nerve-name) in Stem Cells before putting the balance of the cells into the knee-joint" even though she didn't personally have any knowledge of this helping to heal damaged nerves...she agreed (nice to have a doctor that listens to you!).

And...she did. After aspirating 50cc of bone marrow and spinning down the cells (took about 20 min) she came back with a huge syringe and we were ready for the next step. She injected just under 1cc directly on top of the Saphenous nerve (that's what got crushed in the accident in '76) then moved around to the other side of the knee and injected 11cc directly into the knee joint. This was Feb 19, 2019.

Over the course of the next few days, I tested turning off my spinal cord stimualtor (SCS) but was too scared to leave it off. I had experienced a malfunction in it, once, where it mysteriously shut itself off and I didn't realize it until I was hit with a 9.9 level of pain that had me collapse in a chair my wife graciously ran to grab and put under me, writing in untold pain and tears, unable to speak a word. That memory was very vivid as I even contemplated turning it off. But ... on March 1st, I took a leap of faith and shut it off - keeping the control unit in place and on my person 24x7. Hours turned into a day, then days turned into weeks until now, one month and a few days later, I no longer need the SCS at all and I will be scheduling to have it removed...FOR GOOD!!

The joint itself? Exponentially better - I have my life back. I no longer have to think, "shortest distance between 2 points" and I love walking from one point to another with a "spring in my step" ... and zero pain. My pace has already picked up, significantly. And now, as of this afternoon, I start PT to start strengthening the muscles in my R leg that are incredibly weak. My Ortho called it, "Atrophy" and I knew it was bad, just didn't know it was that bad.

I truly hope this helps SOMEONE at least consider this amazing procedure. It is absolutely NOT for everyone. If you are bone-on-bone there's little chance it can help but - do the research, talk to knowledgeable people. I am a HUGE success story so I know it CAN work...for both a damaged nerve and osteoarthritis. Absolutely, LIFE-CHANGING for me.

I hope I never have to amend this story with bad news but - just, wow!