Dr. Richard Burt - Everyday Miracles: Curing Multiple Sclerosis, Scleroderma, and Autoimmune Diseases by Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant

Everyday Miracles

Curing Multiple Sclerosis, Scleroderma, and Autoimmune Diseases by Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant

Prof. Richard K. Burt, M.D.

Foreword by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Propelled by compassion and intellect, Dr. Richard Burts journey of scientific discovery led to a breakthrough treatment for autoimmune disease resulting in hundreds of sufferers living disease-free. Everyday Miracles is his story and theirsdisplays of courage and perseverance against conventional thinking and disease will find you in awe on one page and angry on another. As a catastrophic illness survivor, I, along with my family, share the gratitude felt by the individuals profiled in this book and we are very thankful for Richards brilliant mind and compassionate heart. As a former United States congressman and senator, [I know] there is much to gain from following Dr. Burts lead and challenging conventional wisdom on the treatment of disease.

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (IL)

Dr. Richard Burt tells us in Everyday Miracles that Medicine is the interface between the humanities and science. The authors fascinating journey takes us on our own discovery of humanity and medical and healthcare systems and structures for advancing knowledge and healthcare. Dr. Burt has a unique voice and a powerful set of stories to tell.

Professor Henry Bienen, PhD, President Emeritus, President Northwestern University (1995 to 2009)

An inspirational book by a pioneering physician whose humanity and empathy shine from every page. Dr. Burt really understands the terrible toll of autoimmune conditionsthe pain of gradually losing ones essential self to MS or Crohns diseaseand has dedicated his life to finding a new answer. Its a must-read for patients and doctors alike.

Caroline Wyatt, Award-winning International Broadcaster and Journalist

Inspiring and often deeply humanistic. In Everyday Miracles, Professor Richard Burt, the preeminent physician-scientist in the field of stem cell transplantation for autoimmune diseases, offers insight through a beautifully written book into a pathway for hope and cures.

James Mason MD, Professor of Medicine, Scripps Clinic, USA

As a physician looking after people with multiple sclerosis, I found this book to be both moving and insightful. Its heartwarming stories give an accurate reflection of the true cost of this devastating illness and the human ingenuity [thats needed] trying to find a cure for it. This is an essential read for everyone with multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, or other autoimmune diseases.

Basil Sharrack, PhD, Professor of Neurology, University of Sheffield, UK

Everyday Miracles is an engaging explanation of a new treatment that has fundamentally changed the natural history of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. It is out-of-the-box thinking that advances science and medicine with a depth of conscience. Its impact will extend well beyond these diseases and patients as it teaches us about the ethics of our societies and medical care. It is a window into curing diseases and a window into ourselves.

Dominique Farge MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Universit Paris-Cit, France

I wrote this text for patients with autoimmune diseases. There is hope, and with all new advances, new doors open, but new questions and difficulties arise. I want to thank my patients for their trust and strength.

I also thank Shalina, Michael, Rajan, Reena, and Shantha for tolerating my indulgence in opening a new frontier. Their faith and support were extraordinary.

Finally, I want to convey my gratitude to all the positive-energy people, both within and outside the medical field, who supported me on this journey.

THE DALAI LAMA

I marvel at the advancements that have been made in science and technology, particularly developments in stem cell transplantation, where a persons own cells are used to treat previously incurable ailments. I therefore welcome this book that details several cases of individuals who have benefited from such medical developments.

Coincidentally, I came to know two of the individuals mentioned in the book who were witness to Tibetan demonstrations in Lhasa in 1987 and thereafter did much to spread awareness of the plight of the Tibetan people.

This book celebrates individual accounts of the human spirit prevailing despite intense physical suffering and odds. The personal experiences mentioned also emphasize the importance of the loving support of family and friends in these stories of triumph over desperation and hopelessness.

I hope the book Everyday Miracles by Dr. Richard K. Burt, will be an inspiration for people to continue looking for ways to benefit from scientific developments and acts of loving kindness by near and dear members of our human family.

18 May 2022

A few months before her twenty-first birthday, Eretria thought she was losing her mind. When she closed her eyes, she saw daylightvertical lines waving back and forth with light shining through like a partially drawn shade on a sunny day. She was too scared to tell people for fear they would think she was going crazy.

New symptoms developed while she was taking a shower. Eretria had to put her head and body against the shower wall to keep from falling over. She pushed against the wall to balance herself as she walked around and out of the shower. Her hands shook so hard, it was difficult to dress. She could no longer put on makeup. Her arms and legs became numb. She turned to her grandmother, who had always been there for her.

Eretrias grandmother took her to a doctor, who diagnosed a stroke and sent her home. Eretria was not trained in medicine. She was only twenty-one years old, but at her young age, she felt a stroke could not possibly be correct. Frustrated by her continued symptoms, she went to the emergency room and was hospitalized. After basic lab work and a drug screen, which all came back normal, she was diagnosed as a hypochondriac and discharged.

Eretria knew herself and knew she was not a hypochondriac. She reasoned that either her symptoms were real, or she was truly going insane. Either way, something was seriously wrong. She sought a third opinion at another hospital, and, after a brain imaging (MRI) study, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic incurable disease in which your bodys own immune cells attack your brain and spinal cord. They treated her with steroids and Cytoxan (an immune-specific chemotherapy).

Attacks and hospitalizations occurred so frequently that Eretria ended up on a first-name basis with the hospital staff. Just a year earlier, she had been a carefree twenty-one-year-old girl thinking about makeup, going out with her girlfriends, and dating. She wondered when the next Cosmopolitan magazine would arrive in the mail. She never imagined she would soon be reading an MS magazine next to someone in a wheelchair while being infused with steroids herself.