Fetal-cell recipient "would not do it again"

Willie Terpstra at home in Rotorua after surgery. Picture / Alan Gibson

Motor neurone disease sufferer Willie Terpstra, who went to China this year seeking a miracle cure, is now unable to talk.

Neither can she eat properly, with food having to be forced into her stomach through a tube, and sleep is becoming increasingly difficult for her.

She is dying after radical and controversial surgery which involved two million cells taken from the noses of aborted fetuses injected into her brain on March 23 under local anaesthetic.

Using her electronic keyboard Mrs Terpstra said she was disappointed with the surgery.

"I would not do it again," she said. "It cost too much money and the result is not good."

She has kept in touch with patients she met at Beijing West Hill Hospital since coming home. No one who underwent similar surgery had improved, and two had died.

But Mrs Terpstra is still smiling.

The 64-year-old and her husband Rein are determined to make the most of whatever time they have left together.

They are happy and joke around like any couple. But hidden under Mrs Terpstra's clothing is a special tube inserted into her stomach so she can eat.

The necessity of the tube is a significant blow for the couple who had hoped transplant surgery Mrs Terpstra underwent in China would slow the onset of the terminal muscle-wasting illness she has battled for more than a year.

Facing a bleak outlook, the Terpstras reluctantly accept there is little more they can do to fight the disease.

Eventually, muscles which enable her to walk will degenerate, and she will be confined to a bed. Ultimately, she will lose the ability to breathe for herself.

Three months have passed since the couple returned from China where Mrs Terpstra became the first New Zealander to undergo the revolutionary surgery, which is banned in Western countries.

During the procedure, holes were drilled into her skull and two million cells from the noses of aborted foetuses, donated for science, were injected in to her brain.

She keeps her spirits up by shopping in town, and enjoys the feedback she has had from the public.

"People say it's good to see me out and about," she said. "They like to touch me and pray for me. They treat me like an old friend."

Mrs Terpstra has nearly lost control of her ability to swallow, which has made it increasingly difficult to eat and drink. She manages to swallow soft foods, such as mashed potato and yoghurt, but it is not enough.

As the neurones in her body die, her muscles constantly twitch -- especially at night -- making it hard for her to sleep.

- DAILY POST