Given no hope at home, Canadian man cured of paralysis by HCMC doctors

In February C.D. Washington, 45, visited the hospital to have his legs, paralyzed since 2014 due to car accidents, examined.

He had earlier gone to hospitals in Canada where doctors suggested operations on his legs.

He rejected this and researched online, and decided to come to Vietnam for traditional treatment at Military Hospital 175 in HCMC, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Doctors there first did an MRI scan and several other tests so.

Then Dr Ngo Quoc Hoan of the international department called doctors from the departments of traditional medicine and rehabilitation for consultation.

Le Anh Dung, head of the traditional medicine department, said the case was a "complicated and challenging" one.

He had paralysis of the lower limbs caused by sequelae due to a spinal cord injury and multiple traffic accidents and hypertension, he said.

"Paralysis of the lower extremities due to trauma is a condition of autonomic dysfunction of the legs caused by an injury to the spine-spinal cord (usually at the thoracic and lumbar segments).

"Patients will normally suffer loss of function of extremities, accompanied by sensory disturbances, loss of physiological reflexes."

Doctors decided to treat him with acupuncture and acupressure, and continuously monitor the status to adjust the regimen if needed.

At the same time the Canadian received physical therapy at the rehabilitation department with electrical impulses to stimulate muscles and magnetic stimulation to support muscle and nerve.

He also exercised with technicians and functional machines every day.

After two months he was able to take his first steps with support. A month later he could walk on his own.

He has been discharged from the hospital, but visits every two weeks to be treated with the catgut embedding acupuncture method, in which dissolvable threads are placed in acupoints under the skin, creating local biochemical and biological reactions, and increasing protein and carbohydrate regeneration.

It also increases the nutrient metabolism of the muscle, increases the tone of muscle fibers and improves blood circulation to the implant area.

Washington said: "After many years of treatment and seeing no improvement, my family and I had thought there was no hope for me.

"It was really lucky that I came to Vietnam. I really think of this as a miracle. My mother cried at seeing her son stand up and walk on his own without any help."