An experience with regenerative medicine

Sami told his story of battling back pain over the past 10 years ever since he injured himself duringmilitary training in 2007. He saw “chiropractors, physiotherapists, psychiatrists, rheumatologists, osteopaths and virtually every health professional [possible]”. He had tried “decompression therapy, kinesiotherapy, swimming, physiotherapy, non- steroidal anti-inflammatories drugs (NSAIDS), steroid injections, oral steroids, acupuncture, Chinese therapeutic massage,” but none were effective. Apathetic physicians in Canada dismissed his pain as an illusion, which severely exacerbated his mental health. After being unable to find a cure through the Canadian health care system, he went to New York in January of 2016 to receive his first regenerative medicine treatment: Regenokine. Although Regenokine relieved the pain initially, the healing effects were only temporary. A few months later, he flew to Colorado where he received another treatment at the Centeno- Schultz Clinic using Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). Like Regenokine, the pain-relieving effects of PRP treatment were not lasting. This past July , he travelled to the Cayman Islands to try stem cell treatment, which can only be evaluated until after a few months. Sami noted that while regenerative medicine treatments worked quite well, they were extremely expensive. Since they are not offered in Canada, Canadians who need these treatments must go abroad to seek them without insurance. Sami hoped these treatments would soon be integrated in Canadadian healhcare as soon as possible.

Chinese director Diedie Weng “sought to capture the personal ways in which [two] worlds and times met and crashed into each other” in her first feature film, The Beekeeper and his Son. The film focuses on the growing tension between the younger and older generations as China becomes increasingly industrialized. It presents this generational disconnect through the relationship of Maofu, a young adult returning from the city to his family’s rural beekeeping business, and his father Lao Yu, who encourages his son to invest his time, energy, and care into the bees. The city had invigorated Maofu with several ideas for growing the business and increasing profit, while Lao Yu wishes Maofu would learn the intricacies of beekeeping and handle the business with care. These divergent goals escalate into a harsh lack of understanding between the father and son. Weng often shows Maofu working alone with a melancholy demeanor, emphasizing his feelings of not belonging and being a disappointment. Lao Yu seems to feel out of touch with the modern generation, as if a common ground cannot be achieved. While Weng makes connections between these obstacles and the tangible generational divide, The Beekeeper and his Son also suggests that perhaps a candid exchange of wisdom and ideas between both generations can bring about solutions to shared problems.