EMIL Sison, Davao resident and Villa Medica patient. PHOTO BY CHECHE MORAL
At about this time last year, Emil Sison was hobbling around with the aid of a cane. His speech was so slurred that he was embarrassed to speak to people.
When he had to pay for something, hed feel the storekeepers exasperation as his shaky hands struggled to grip the bills from his wallet.
Sison, 66, was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease two years ago, a new blow for the retired Davao construction company owner who had already suffered from two heart attacks prior.
This time, Sisons new condition had symptoms so enfeebling that they threatened his quality of life, unacceptable for a man who refuses to slow down and resign himself to his bed as he awaits his end.
VILLA Medica managing director Bobby Chia with Miss Universe and actress Gloria Diaz and Villa Medica Philippines country manager Suzette Lopez in Edenkoben. PHOTO BY CHECHE MORAL
When we met him last month at the Villa Medica hospital in Edenkoben, Germany, a quiet little town surrounded by forests and vineyards an hour-and-a-half-long drive from Frankfurt, it was hard to imagine the robust man as he described himself from the year before, when he first received fresh-cell therapy (FCT). He came down from his room sans walking stick, his speech was clear, and he showed us that only two of his fingers remained slightly shaky.
I talked to another patient today, and he noted that it was my second time here, he said. And I said, I wouldnt be here again if its not good Last year, I thought tama na, malayo at mahal, kaya na. But when I felt new symptoms of the same disease, I thought, delikado. Ayokong maging bedridden. Ayokong maghintay na lang ng katapusan. (Thats enough, I thought. The treatment is far and expensive But I didnt want to be bedridden and just wait for my end.)
Like many Filipinos who may have heard of this unorthodox alternative treatment in Germany, Sison had doubts about FCTs efficacy, even as he had agreed to travel across the world and pay good money for the treatment.
Preventive, regenerative
Continued here:
Filipinos make up biggest clientele of German fresh-cell therapy center