The bounce is back in entertainer Don Ho's voice, and he calls his experimental stem cell procedure in Thailand "a Christmas miracle." He feels great, he said.

Ho, 75, underwent adult stem cell therapy, a procedure that's still under review in the United States, on Nov. 28 in Bangkok, Thailand, as a last-ditch effort to strengthen his heart, which has weakened.

"I learned that you cannot fight Mother Nature, so don't mess with her," Ho said. "You have to listen to your body. You can't think you're Superman."

In the past few months, his condition — cardiomyopathy, a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and doesn't function normally — left him occasionally breathless, woozy and on edge, on stage and at home.

"You do stupid things, thinking you can work through it," he said. "You get thrown for a loop every time. I had my 12th episode, so to speak. I would feel good, so I went to work — and wham-o, in the middle of a song, off I would go in an ambulance" after experiencing heartbeat irregularities.

The most recent episode occurred while Ho was at home doing handyman chores. "That's when I made a decision to do something about the condition," he said. "The stem cell thing was a last resort."

Now, he said, he feels "like a new person. It's a big change in my life. I wouldn't be talking to you now, if I didn't go ahead with this surgery."

Doctors told Ho that the 45 or so others who have had stem cell therapy have experienced up to 75 percent improvement in their heart function.

Ho learned of stem cell therapy by doing research online. "After I discovered it, I went to my doctor (Dr. Edward N. Shen) to look at it, and he gave the clearance to proceed," he said.

Because the therapy does not have the approval of the Food and Drug Administration, the surgery is done outside of the United States. In Ho's case, the therapy was administered at a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.

"The people there are first-class; the doctors are world-renowned; the service is unbelievable," he said. "The cardio part of the hospital is like a first-class hotel. ... The people are really sweet. I read about the history of the country, and the kindness, I think, has to do with Buddha. The people are Buddhist, and like Buddha, they're saintly and gentle."

Ho said he remembers little about his procedure. The first phase involved taking his blood, from which stem cells were multiplied in a lab in Israel, a nation that is a partner with Thailand and the U.S. in the therapy. Then the new stem cells were injected into Ho's heart muscle.

The procedure left a 2- to 3-inch scar on the left side of his chest, between his ribs, where an incision was made to inject the invigorated cells. The cells are said to help build new tissue.

Ho said the entire procedure was chronicled on video "so that it may be helpful for other doctors who are curious" about the therapy.

Upon his return to Honolulu on Monday, Ho felt good enough to have what he called his "Hawaiian penicillin" — poi and kalua pig — at Don Ho's Island Grill, the Aloha Tower Marketplace restaurant in which he is a business partner. "Poi is medicine," he said.

He has been recuperating at an undisclosed location and is not yet ready to resume his shows at the Hoku Hale showroom of the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. "I'll know when my doctor gives me a clearance," said Ho.

What's next?

"Nothing hard, just easy walks — like bed to the toilet and back," he said, chuckling.

Ho has been advised to avoid stressful activities. He plans to monitor his diet, too, though he's not on a rigid eating plan. He has lost weight, and is "back to my high school weight — 180 pounds. I now have muscles in my stomach."

The entertainer said he is grateful for his fans, who have shared get-well wishes and prayers for his recovery. "At this time, all I can wish to everyone is good health," he said. "Enjoy each other while you can. And remember, don't mess with Mother Nature."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.