Well, we have had quite an emotional rollercoaster of a week. Monday I came across an article about Duke University Hospital transplanting stem cells from newborn umbilical cords into children with cerebral palsy via IV. The results of these transplants were fantastic! By no means was it a cure but it has made these kids lives so much better! Some that were vision impaired can now see and some that could not sit without support can now sit and some are now talking in full sentences! We were so excited...I was shaking and we stayed up until 2am researching online all the information we could find. The only downfall was that they will only transplant the child's own stem cells not a match/donor. Natalie was born 6yrs ago and we just weren't aware of the whole storing umbilical cord thing that is so popular now. I was so bummed, but then Jerry remembered that when we had Natalie they asked if we would donate the cord to research...they were going to throw it away if not. We did donate it...and I made a call to Gracie's amazing NICU nurse at Duke (Brigit...we love you)....and she made some phone calls and gave us the information we needed to find out if they still had it stored. Unfortunatly, they don't (one of the many letdowns we have faced and will face) it's like a rollercoaster of emotions. So after I got over the letdown of that...I pressed on and did some more research. Come to find out, you don't have to use your own stem cells for this procedure, only if done in the United States because transplant of donor cells is not yet approved in the US. We found lots of information on a particular Neurologist in California that has an office just over the border in Mexico that will perform the procedure. I know...it's sounds a bit scary that you have to go to Mexico to do this but I have been emailing parents who have done this with this doctor and have had good results. It is all very safe and his office has quite a organized procedure set up where they come and pick you up at your hotel in San Diego and take you over the border to the office there. Everything is tested and done safe. This is not a cure...but it is hope that in the future as they learn more about the stem cells and what they can do, it will be a cure someday...but we do know for now it could mean a better life for Gracie. The treatment is (of course) not paid for by insurance and will cost around $10,000...so will be saving up for it and we are also hoping to get a fundraiser started soon or a raffle of some sort going to raise money. I have posted some links with more information and testimonials on the site....check them out, it's pretty interesting!
d
Sunday, March 9, 2008
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