Bodie
Parkville,#2Consumer Comment
Thu, March 07, 2013
William C Rader has changed the name of his company from Medra to "Stem Cell of America". He still has the same scripted miracle patients. Many of his patients seem to have a placebo effect after the first $30,000 so called "fetal stem cell" treatment. But beware, once you sign over their story to Medra aka Stem Cell of America, the company owns it for life, even after you realize that the results were not what you thought they were.
In Hannah's case, she suffers from Lennox Gastaut Syndrome which is a roller coaster ride in terms of of active and relatively inactive seizure periods. After Hannah's first so called stem cell treatment in the Dominican, her epilepsy was inactive and they gave Dr Rader the credit. After her least stem cell treatment, her seizures became very active. Hannah's mom details Hannah's struggle wit the syndrome in this archived journal. The active journal disappeared immediately after it was pointed out to Medra that Hannah's brain was not healed, as Rader likes to claim. (See BBC's "Stem Cell and Miracles")
Here is Hannah's mom speaking about her condition after her last stem cell treatment.
Our neurologist came in on Thursday afternoon and broke the news to us that we were already expecting. Hannahs EEG is much worse (although she is sick). She is having very frequent absence, atypical absence and complex partial seizures that are very difficult to detect with the naked eye. These are often called, subclinical. She also had the three tonic seizures. He changed her emergency medication from Ativan to intranasal midazolam because Midazolam is stronger, and has a quicker onset than Ativan. He arranged for Oxygen to be installed in our home because her oxygen saturations drop after seizures and this can increase brain damage. He ordered a repeat MRI to see if there has been any change from the previous 2 MRIs that she has had. He is looking for atrophy or areas of dysgenesis in the brain. He also ordered a muscle biopsy to complete the full metabolic/genetic screen from 2 years ago.
- We talked at length about where to go from here. The sad reality is that there is nothing left for Hannah. There is only one medication remaining that might work for her, called Rufinamide, but we cant get it in Canada. Steve and I have been all over this, emailing everyone in the pharmaceutical company to try to access this medication on a compassionate protocol. I will keep you posted. The sad reality is that when this medication was first being marketed in Germany, we received an email from the pharmaceutical company asking if they could use some of her pictures from this website for their patient care guide. We agreed and she is now the child in their book, but she cant get the medication. Life is so bitterly ironic sometimes!!!!!
http://web.archive.org/web/20091201172810/http://www.hopeforhannah.ca/journal_may_09.html
Bodie
Parkville,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, December 05, 2009
The point of this report is to make parents, that have children with epilepsy, aware that the Medra Hannah Video is not true. As with all of Medra's Miracle patients, it is a well scripted advertisement meant to con desperate parents into wiring $30,000 to the Bahama's to purchase hope based on no medical studies, just parent testimonies, that means NOTHING MORE than I lost 80 lbs with acai berry testimonials.
As with all Medra Miracle patients, Hannah's other therapies are omitted. A lie of omission is to remain silent when ethical behavior calls for one to speak up. An omission is a method of deception that uses the technique of simply remaining silent when speaking the truth would significantly alter the other person's capacity to make an informed decision.
To omit facts, in an attempt to make a profit from parents desperate to help their children, is simply evil.
At the July Hope for Hannah fun run Hannah's dad thanked Dr Bruce Hoffman, so it appears weeks before the 1st stem cell treatment there was a decrease in frequency and severity of seizures while under his care. This was right before Hannah's first treatment
To Dr Bruce Hoffman, an integrative medicine specialist in Calgary, we want to thank you for never giving up on out daughter. Doctor Hoffman pursued Hannah's illness and arranged for testing in the United States that has led us to the cuase of her encehalopathy. He has had a profound and extremely positive impact on our daughter's health anf her seizures have certainly decreased in frequency and severity while under his care.
http://www.hopeforhannah.ca/steves_hannah_speech.pdf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After stem cells treatments Hannah's mom is on a blog stating she beleives IVIV is the reason for hannah control. Again clearly showing what a farce Medra's infomercial is.
Hannah EllefsoN
Friday, July 18, 2008
Carolyn Ellefson said: March 1, 2008
Thank for creating this website to link together families affected by LGS. My daughter has LGS and currently her seizures have been very well controlled for over 6 months. Please visit her website for information on the treatments that are working, namely IVIG!
Posted by lgs foundation at 1:45 PM
http://lgsfoundationorg.blogspot.com/2008/07/yeyette-cochon-said-july-11-2008-hi.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is a medical fact that Lennox Gastaut Syndrome is a rollercoaster ride with a succession of active and relatively inactive seizure periods. If you read Hannah blog you will see the roller coaster ride the sweet child has been on.
The Medra video makes you believe "Dr Rader healed my brain" . It is simple NOT TRUE. Go to the Hope for Hannah blog and read the truth.
Definition of a scam SCAM = "a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, esp. for making a quick profit; swindle."
ride23
United States of America#4Consumer Comment
Fri, December 04, 2009
I apologize for the misspelling of Carolyn's name it was a mistake, not some corporate conspiracy. Additionally I never purported to be one of the Ellefsons, only a friend of the family. I have no opinion on Medra as a company, only that the results I personally saw in Hannah were positive and that the Ellefson family continues to be happy that they chose to get the treatment.
Fraud buster
LINTHICUM,#5Author of original report
Mon, November 30, 2009
Medra is losing patients, due to the overwhelming factual information provided by the media, medical and scientific organizations and testimonies of their own former patients. They are desperately lying, in an attempt to recruit patients, before they get shut down. Lies to cover up lies is their modus operandi. Since their rebuttal, to the original factual complaint on Rip Off, has not come until 5 months after the fact, it strongly suggests that this rebuttal did not originate from the Ellefsons. The Ellefson's were aware of the complaint at the time it was posted. Furthermore, the location of the rebuttal is coming from the
In Hannahs own website blog, which is written by her mother, Carolyn, it states.
Hannahs EEG is much worse, as is her seizing. Her mother states, the sad reality is we feel we are losing the battle. If the stem cells were pluripotent, as Rader claims, Hannah would be improving, not losing the battle. The very nature of pluripotent stem cells means that they continue to seek out the damaged area, while multiplying to repair the damage. The fact is that Raders stem cell injections cannot possibly do this and Hannahs EEG, seizing and mothers own testimony proves this. Moreover, Lennox Gastaut is not a fatal disease It has a 5% mortality rate due to accidents, while the person with this disease is seizing. Therefore, the claim that this disorder would continue to worsen until Hannah died, is inane lies..
The only truth in Medras rebuttal is that Medra created an advertisement. However, it is has been proven that Medras advertisement is a manipulated scripted and staged lie, in regard to all of Medras so called miracle patients, including Hannah, Ricci Kilgore, and Jake Brower.
ride23
United States of America#6General Comment
Sun, November 29, 2009
I am disappointed and frustrated to see that Linthicum has chosen to provide misleading information about Hannah's condition in an attempt to discredit Medra. Linthicum states that " Hannah's seizures are more serious than ever and her EEG results are horrible. " This is simply untrue. It is very easy to look through the entire www.hopeforhannah.ca website blogs and see the amazing improvement that Hannah made following her stem cell procedures. She went from being a high functioning healthy 3 year old to a little girl experiencing literally dozens of seizures a day that impaired her ability to walk, talk, and control her bodily functions. The diagnosis that her family received claimed that this impairment would continue to worsen until eventually Hannah dies. After the stem cell treatments Hannah is once again able to communicate clearly, go to school at her age appropriate grade level, play with her parents and brothers, and enjoy being a 6 year old girl. Hannah does still have occasional seizures, but they are usually related to other underlying medical concerns (generally infections), and they are significantly less frequent and less severe. It has been a great joy for me, and for other friends of the Ellefson family to watch Hannah regain her dignity and her life in such an incredible way. No one knows what the future holds for Hannah, but we do know that the stem cell treatments gave her a chance that the physicians here in Calgary, Alberta told her family would never happen. The advertisement that Linthicum is referring to is not fraudulent or scripted. They are the exact words that Hannah's mom Caroline said about her experience with Medra and Dr. Rader. This report is inaccurate and misleading and should be removed for these reasons.