Before I depart, I want to give an account of all expenses related to the stem cell treatment in China:

$52,900.00 - Stem cell treatment
$1,776.00 – Hwang, the super helper who works 24/7
$2,161.00 – Nurse on flight 1 (LON to PEK)
$14,305 – Flights (Chris, Koo 2x, Larry, Mr. & Mrs. Cho, Gabriel)
$343 – Fedex of supplies to Beijing
$3,000 - Accommodation
$74,485 - Total

The costs above do not include:

• any out of pocket money spent with local expenses (food, commuting, supplies for Chris, etc), other minor costs (i.e. visa, etc)
• second nurse that needs to be hired to fly back with Chris (estimated at $2200)
• additional helper on flight, which is likely to be required because neither my parents nor myself have the strength to lift Chris up for the transfer in the plane (estimated at $1750)

I believe a cost figure of c. $80,000 should be a good estimate for the final costs. I would like to provide a further breakdown for the $52,900 cost related to Chris’ 3 month treatment at TianTan Puhua Hospital (April 3 – July 2, 2007):

• Hospitalization with daily therapy, stem cell activating cocktail IV, breakfast: $15,000 first month, $10,000 x 2 months afterwards, total $35,000;
• $2,000 x 4 = $8,000 fetus neural stem cell injections;
• $9,000 Bone Marrow Stem Cell procedure (extraction surgery, cell cultivation, c. 3 injection procedures for reinserting cultivated stem cells);
• $300 x 3 months = $900 for Traditional Chinese Therapy (acupuncture, massage)

Thanks to the efforts of the Chris Barnes Medical Fund (“CBMF”) fundraiser team, a total of $40,000 in donations to the CBMF were directly wired towards the payment of the hospital bill, covering roughly 50% of the final costs and 75% of the TianTan Hospital invoice. I know I always say thank you for all your generosity, but I could not stress enough how everyone’s efforts helped me immensely.

In the last two years since Chris’ injury, the continuous pursuit of alternative therapies and treatment options has been the only possibility left given the poor prognosis given by doctors - and consequently not much being done for Chris. Below is a summary of what has been spent directly on Chris’ medical care and maintenance since his injury on April 21, 2005:

$6,802.51 - EEG Biofeedback
$2,587.00 - Brainfingers Software
$2,719.00 - Biomodulator & Training
$9,492.25 - Acupuncture
$3,466.00 - Reflexology, Reiki,CST
$33,279.13 - HBOT
$1,852.50 - Massage
$74,486.13 (to date, likely final cost c. $80,000) - Stem Cell
$1,656.07 - Supplements & Diet
$136,340.58 (as of May 26, 2007)

The above are only the costs directly linkable to Chris. Adding up other resources that I committed towards researching alternatives for Chris (seminars, meetings with doctors in universities and researchers both in the UK, US, meeting other patients and caregivers around the world, books, etc etc) Chris’ recovery fight surpasses $150,000 without any margin of error…

I want to thank again everyone because through the CBMF and direct donations, I was given $84,223 in financial help in the last two years, so it does make a HUGE difference in my fight for Chris’ healing journey. Through your generosity, you have made this your fight as well. Donations from the CBMF were as follows:

CBMF 2006: $39,543
CBMF 2007: $40,000
Direct: $4,680
Total:$84,233 (or 62% or all costs listed above)

Many thanks for everyone’s contributions in helping me do everything possible for Chris. You not only help towards his direct care and improve his chances of recovery, but obviously provide me with amazing financial relief in my own responsibilities towards our son.

As a final note, the only people authorized to raise funds on behalf of Chris’ care and maintenance are the trustees of the CBMF, Annemarie and Yuki. They can be reached at hopeforchris@yahoo.com. Absolutely no one else other than the appointed trustees of the CBMF and their team have my permission to engage in fundraising activities on behalf of Chris.

A paypal option and wire details have been set up at www.hopeforchris.com for anyone wishing to contribute.

With my deepest gratitude and love for your generosity,

Koo