Emily entered this world in a state of profound oxygen deprivation known in medical parlance as “anoxia,” a condition that lasted twenty- eight minutes. As a result of this, she was saddled with profound developmental delays and visual problems and was quickly classified as having cerebral palsy. As she grew older, the extent of her disabilities became painfully evident: She could barely communicate in a way that anyone but her family and therapists could readily understand, she could not count, she was unable to feed herself or walk, and she developed little in the way of a personality. As a result, her five sisters and brothers avoided interacting with her.
In the years that followed, Emily underwent a barrage of therapy in the United States and abroad, which produced modest improvements in her speech and in some aspects of her body movements— though nothing impressive. Among the few seemingly effective treatments were a lengthy series of hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT) and a course of therapy in Poland involving a special rehabilitation apparatus called the “Adeli suit.” (This suit is a spin-off of the old Soviet space program; it helps CP patients experience normal posture and movements, patterns that the brain retains as a sort of standard to strive for.)
Emily’s parents doggedly investigated and utilized any treatment or regimen that seemed effective. This quest for new avenues led them into the world of stem-cell therapy in 2002. Following lengthy discussions with researchers at Steenblock Research Institute, Emily’s parents decided to have her treated with umbilical-cord stem cells abroad. This took place in November 2002.
During the course of the six months that followed, Emily experienced significant improvements in her ability to focus, concentrate, and speak. Her vocabulary expanded dramatically so that she could readily make complex sentences. And her speech patterns improved so much that strangers could understand her. She also developed a greater ability to hold objects such as a crayon than she had prior to stem-cell therapy; and she could also draw a line, count to twenty-four, feed her- self, and even make jokes and interact with her siblings.
The kind and degree of positive change in Emily was so striking that her therapists and doctors argued in favor of a second stem-cell treatment. She had this treatment in November 2003, and in the months since that time, Emily has made additional gains in her ability to walk, speak, and interact with her family and others. Additional stem-cell treatments took place in 2004, and at last report, Emily was getting about using a walker and doing well in her schoolwork.