Moscow Mills, MO (KPLR)—
A Moscow Mills man is spending his entire pension on a chance to feel what he calls "normal again." In about a week he'll head for Mexico for stem cell therapy to help him deal with diabetes.68-year-old John Bush has his passport in hand and will head for Progreso, Mexico. He'll be going to the Integra Medical Center just across the Rio Grande at Brownsville. A doctor named Omar Gonzales will take over from there. He will implant stem cells while researchers and politicians debate the issue in this country. The up front cost is $10,000.
"When you've got a disease like this and if there's anyway to get rid of it you're going to do it regardless of how much money you got. You're going to give it up to be normal again." said John Bush
John Bush is an accomplished singer who performs around the Troy, Missouri. He spent 41 years as an operating engineer. The unmarried father of five says he has the support of his children. He has been suffering from diabetes for 15 years.
"They say when you get old your stem cells in your body gets old, too. Well, when they put these new ones in there it's supposed to rejuvenate you." said John Bush
John realizes it's all still experimental. The FDA has yet to approve the procedure of implanting cells from placentas.
Such treatments have been done in Europe for over 25 years. Experimental or not, John Bush says the important thing is to keep a positive attitude.
The International Stem Cell Institute claims to have conducted tests on well over 2,000 patients with a variety of conditions and disorders.
