Louis Rowe was a young ordinary guy finishing off a marketing degree when a motorbike accident left him paraplegic and in a wheelchair. Louis speaks to 3008 about his decision to undertake controversial stem cell therapy and regaining movement and feeling in his legs, and how a fateful meeting with musician Nick Barker made a dream a music career reality. An inspiring and most interesting Docklands resident.

How long have you lived in the Docklands area and what attracted you to the area initially?
6 years, my brother and mother bought the Mad Duck Cafe at 90 Lorimer Street.

What was life like for you prior to the accident in Thailand, what were you doing professionally & personally?
I was studying marketing at uni with 6 months to go, working part time as a landscape gardener and seemed destined to a regular life.

What is stem cell therapy and how long is the process of treatment?
Stem cells are the building blocks of life, embroyonic stem cells can form into absolutely any cell found in the human body so they can therefore fix any damaged area over about 5 years.

When did you first notice it was working for you?
It was about three or four days into it, I could lift my knees off the bed.

In your opinion, what percentage of your rehabilitation do you attribute to Dr Geeta Shroff and how much was mentally or spiritually derived from within?
100% stem cells, intense physio can help with motor function movement but it can’t return the functions to the bowel and bladder or return feeling to the skin!! There is a lot of mental and physical work involved though, the stem cells only bridge the gap of the injury then its up to the person to retrain those nerves and develop movement.

What is the success rate and are there risks involved?
Every patient with spinal chord injury has found results with Dr Geeta Shroff! The degree of success varies with each patient depending on age, age of injury, the rehabilitation work put in etc.. Dr Shroff also treats many other diseases and ailments such as diabetes, stroke victims, muscular dystrophy and motor neurone disease.

Was meeting musician Nick Barker a chance meeting?
Yes, we were at Young and Jacksons and he was playing there with his band, being a good bloke he came up to me after the gig and asked if I’d had big night and we got talking. I mentioned that I had written all these songs and he said he would get a band together and help me out with the whole process of recording, producing, releasing an album and he did!

What can listeners expect from your debut album ‘Lines of Louis’?
A rock album with some acoustic tracks that include some raw emotion.

Do Docklands adequately accommodate people with disabilities?
Docklands is generally great for disability access; there are very few stairs or steep hills which is great! The only thing is parking, not enough disabled parking.

Lines of Louis is available online through iTunes and hard copies can be ordered through www.hiredgoons.com.au