Released on = January 5, 2007, 12:33 am

Press Release Author = Jon Whyte

Industry = Biotech

Press Release Summary = Hawaiian man takes the chance that stem cell therapy will
restore a better quality of life.

Press Release Body =
Jon Whyte

Sitting in his hotel room in Bangkok just days after having stem cell therapy,
Conrad Bush doesn't look particularly ill. But he is. He has one blocked artery in
his heart and many partially occluded arteries that supply his heart muscle with
blood. Bypass was not an option.

"In 2005 I started getting tired. I had no energy and huffed and puffed just trying
to put my shoes on. The surgeon told me he was unable to unblock my artery and
therefore my heart was beyond specialist help. When those guys told me there was no
help and no hope, I accepted the news, because they were the best. But I still had
one chance left - so I have had stem cells from my own blood injected into the
ischemic areas," he said.

While his medical history is a common enough one it is also unique, in that it is
his own story. He is one of life's givers. Over the years Conrad has given of his
time and his skills in administration and TV production to a wide variety of
charitable causes in Hawaii. He has produced Jerry Lewis telethons, worked for the
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association produced TV programs
for Habilitat and for six years was Executive Director for the Arthritis Foundation,
including six telethons.

"I lived a high pressure life that was always deadline-intensive. I felt I could
cope but I was beating up on myself without knowing it. I took my good health for
granted as if I were invincible. Disease robs you of your dreams - you just keep
working because you can. You don't realize until too late that you have worn out
certain parts of your body. I didn't sleep enough. I burned out," he said.

While busy covering the Hawaii State Legislature and the City Council and doing TV
specials and on-location shows he was unaware of what was happening to his body. "It
was a happy time for me, doing what I wanted to do and being surrounded by stable,
competent and professional people," he added.

And then it happened. "In 1998 I had a massage after which I experienced pain down
my left arm and neck. The next day I went to hospital and was given painkillers and
exercises to perform. A scan said I had a pinched nerve in the neck which needed
surgery. No one said anything about my heart or cholesterol. My doctor's locum
suggested a treadmill test in preparation for surgery and during that test my BP
dropped dangerously so an EKC, echogram, radioisotope scan and an angiogram were
done which showed that all three of the main vessels supplying my heart muscle with
blood were over ninety percent blocked," he said.

Immediately placed in Intensive Care his wife was summoned. "We were both devastated
and in deep shock. I needed a bypass and I had no choice. It was all out of my
hands. I needed to put my faith in the doctors and fortunately I had the best
working for me. Fear of the unknown and the overall uncertainty took over but what
made me brave was my faith and trust in those there to help me. I boosted my own
self-confidence. I was told afterwards that I had had at least two heart attacks and
now had a damaged heart muscle. Five grafts were put in place," he recounted.

His recovery was monitored and his cholesterol came down. He though he was fine so
drank occasionally and sometimes cheated on a healthy diet and all the while the
clock was ticking and he was running out of time.

"I had been following Don Ho's amazing recovery story and my boss heard about a
seminar in Hawaii to be conducted by Dr Kitipan Arom, an eminent heart specialist
from Bangkok Heart Hospital who had treated Don. I talked with Don Ho and to friends
and was also lucky enough to be able to speak with Dr Arom about whether or not I
could be a candidate for stem cell therapy. Dr Arom even gave me his mobile number,
so I was able to ask all of the many questions I had about treatment possibilities.
I was ready to go and here I am," he said.

The results of clinical trials done to date give Conrad a conservative 75 percent
chance of returning to a far more active life, without the debilitating symptoms
associated with serious heart disease. Just a small amount of his own blood was
taken and the cells that can go to work repairing his damaged heart and replenishing
the blood supply to the ischemic areas were multiplied by many millions in a
laboratory before being returned directly to the heart muscle by injection. "My
advice to anyone with a similar story is that they should do it - just do it," he
emphasized.

(Jon Whyte is a freelance journalist and editor specializing in health and tourism.
He lives in Bangkok and can be contacted by email at: jaibangkok@gmail.com)






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