I beg you again for patience- this will be another long post and I will get to woman with Rheumatoid Arthritis helped by Adult Stem Cells soon enough.

It has been a few months since I last checked up on Matthew Faiella and his loving parents Daniel and Ruth.  Matthew has seen wonderful improvement in his Autism after receiving Adult Stem Cell treatment in Costa Rica and his parents document each and every improvement in their son at their great blog here http://www.recoveringmatthew.blogspot.com .

It is a great blog because the Faiellas get it.  They get what is important in life-(family and son) and it shines through in their blog.  So even if you don't have any personal connection to Autism, their blog is still worth checking out.  Go there- you will be happy you did.

I know what you are thinking  "Ok, Don, I will go look at the Recovering Matthew blog, but what about Rheumatoid Arthritis??"

Good question!  Well, apparently while the Faiellas were in Costa Rica for Matthew's stem cell treatment, they met another woman who was also there for stem cell treatment-  for her Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Bev, the name of the woman wrote an email to the Faiellas and they showed it here in this post.
Here is the letter from Bev in its entirety:

Dear Daniel, Ruth and Matthew,
I was very excited to stumble on to your website as I reminisce about my journey to ICM almost 1 year ago.

God's richest blessings to you as Matthew progresses and you persevere with his recovery.

I am the Canadian lady with rheumatoid arthritis who sat in the waiting room with you at ICM (the stem cell company) while you waited for Matthew's second injection on his first trip. It would be my first (stem cell) treatment that day. As a teacher, I can tell you I was very excited when you said that Matthew had slept through the night for the first time after he had received his first stem cell infusion. I was and am so excited about his recovery.

As for me, well a year ago I never thought I would be where I am at today. I prayed that the Lord would allow me to walk up stairs normally, sequentially just a little bit one day. Well, I don't even think about stairs anymore. Often I run them. This is truly a miracle for a year ago I could only go up and down stairs by pulling myself up or proceed on my bottom one agonizing step at a time. I'm back to being a wife, a mom and a teacher. Yes indeed, I am back teaching and finishing my master's degree. I truly believe that God lead me to ICM and I would not be where I am had I not gone.

Would I go again? Yes, but I'll need to save up before I can. I am not cured, but I am way, way better. I know Matthew is perfect to you always and that God has made him a mighty young man to work through such hurdles at such a young age. Blessings again to you parents for helping him along this road.

I look forward to catching your blog every now and then,
Bev

Matthew's story is fantastic.  Bev's story is equally fantastic.  Where would these two be without Adult Stem Cells.  At least they could make it outside the U.S and Canada and go for treatment-  millions of others aren't so lucky.  Non-invasive safe procedures- no downside.  Why isn't it available in the United States?

We have a growing list of children with either Optic Nerve Hypoplasia or its' close cousin Septo-Optic Dysplasia.  These children have gone to China to receive Adult Stem Cells - they have returned from China with miraculous improvement in their vision and other positive side effercts that help with their development.

Remember, before Adult Stem Cells, there was absolutely no treatment for this disease in which the optic nerve fails to develop.  The patient was sentenced to a life of blindness.  And now, thanks to a company called Beike Biotech,  these children and their families have a better quality of life.  Xavier Carballo, Cameron Petersen, Cody Fend, Savannah Watring, Lydia Olmsted and Rylea Barlett, and Lydia Black are among those on my ever growing list.  I am very happy to announce we have yet another child -  who has been part of a "stem cell miracle"

Connor Corkern is the latest child to be added to the growing list.  Connor, a young boy from Hammond, Louisiana, traveled with his family to China in July 2008 to receive Adult Stem Cells for his optic nerve hypoplasia.  Since then Connor has improved in many ways:

Grandpa Kenny Corkern said:

He™s doing things I never thought he would do, he said. And he's picking up on things a little faster, and he™s getting around better. I can't say enough about him and his mom and daddy, how they take care of him. And I can™t say enough about the people that helped.

And the parents say:


Connor™s progress since getting stem cell transplants six months ago is little short of a miracle, say his parents, Coye and Katie Corkern.

He™s doing great. He is doing wonderful. It™s like we™ve got a totally new baby, Coye Corkern said Wednesday.


Coye Corkern said tests show Connor™s optic nerve has actually grown from the size of an ink pen™s center to about the size of a spaghetti noodle.

Katie admits to thinking about going back to China or to Thailand, which also offers the procedure currently banned in the United States.

I think what if he got a few more transplants, what else would happen, she said.

Here is the full article

Since global warming seems to have cooled off, the only climate change we may have  now after Obama's inauguration is a 'stem cell' climate change.

I have tried to document the positive effects of stem cell treatment for blind children with Septo-optic Dysplasia and the similar Optic Nerve Hypoplasia in this blog.  Lydia Black, Lydia Olmsted and Rylea Barlett, Savannah Watring, Cody Fend, Cameron Petersen, and most recently Xavier Carballo.

All of these are fantastic stories.  And hopefully, in the near future, I will have some new ones to share with you.  For example, today I have a story about a young blind girl with Septo-optic Dysplasia who is heading to China to receive her stem cell treatment.  After a community fund raising effort Megan Traynor is on her way to China to receive stem cell therapy for her condition.  Also coming from Northern Ireland to China is a 2 year old named Dakota Clarke.  And in another story, yet another girl, Bailey Locklear is going to Thailand to get treatment for her Optic nerve hypoplasia through the same company - Beike Biotech.

This is from Bailey's mother:

"People ask me, 'What if nothing happens? What if you go over there and see no result?" Walker said. "Well, that's a leap of faith we took. Why would I not want to give my daughter the vision she deserves and not have to struggle so bad for her to be able see what God has made - the birds and clouds and everything? There's no way I could not try. If somehow it (Bailey's vision) doesn't change, then it wasn't God's will. At least I can say I did everything I could."

Judging from the results of  trailblazers who went to China before Bailey, I am confident Bailey will see good results.

I hope in the near future I will be able to follow up on these brave children like Bailey, Megan and Dakota and their parents and add them to the growing list of blind children who are able to see because of the miracles of Adult Stem Cells.

For more information and previous results of this treatment- please contact me- donmargolis@gmail.com   or you can contact Dr. Kara Zhang- the medical director of Beike Biotech at dr.zhang@beikebiotech.com

This will be a long post today.  But please stay with me- I'm going to a good place and I think you will learn something.

Come with me-

Michael Snow was a victim of a forceps slipping during his breach birth. The slippage caused a skull fracture and his cerebral cortex was damaged. This brain injury (cerebral palsy) has affected Michael's ability to speak, move, and even sit up.
The doctors recommended Michael be put in a hospice, but Michael's parents had none of that:
It™s amazing how quickly some doctors give up. They made us feel like he was taking up space and needed to move on, Snow said.

Through prayer, the Snows decided to seek further treatment and to accept whatever God had planned for their son.

We took a leap of faith. I™m a very simple person and I felt if Michael were going to die, at least he would be given love, Mrs. Snow said. He would know love and be given love in the time he had. Choices like this are life and death decisions, and I had a motherly feeling that I wanted him to be in my arms.

2 years ago, the Snows decided to try stem cell treatment for Michael. Being devoutly Catholic, they researched and found that the Adult Stem Cells found in umbilical cord blood presented no ethical issues.

Now, I have documented in this blog about the many children with Cerebral Palsy who have gone to Duke University and received cord blood stem cells taken from their own cord blood stored at birth. Well, what if you didn't store your baby's cord blood and he/she has some condition like Cerebral Palsy?? What do you do? Unfortunately, you have to go outside of the United States. Germany, Costa Rica, China are just a few countries that use cord blood stem cells that are donated at birth.

That is precisely what the Snows did. They took Michael to Tijuana, Mexico where he was treated:

The treatment had been used with some success in children with cerebral palsy, so we met with researchers and decided to go for it, he said.

We wanted to do everything we could and explore everything we could for Michael, Mrs. Snow said. What™s sad about the whole thing is this treatment shouldn™t be so expensive, and people shouldn™t have to leave the country to try it. I wish researchers were doing more to look into cord blood stem cells. It™s been left behind by other research.

Now, this stem cell treatment wasn't a miracle treatment as most stories I have on this blog.  However, Michael did improve some:

Snow said Michael was having severe problems with tremors prior to one of the treatments, and improved after receiving the cells. He has also had some improvement in his eyesight and other functions, but still remains unable to walk or perform other tasks without assistance.

We didn™t get the miracle we hoped for when we tried the stem cells, but we saw some improvement, and we™ve seen others who have been helped in a big way by the treatments, Snow said.

Snow said he wants to continue to explore different options for his son, and thinks cord blood and adult stem cells will play a key part in the future treatment of people with neurological disabilities.

I really pray about upcoming stem cell treatments, and I wish there was more emphasis in this country on this research, he said. You can™t wait forever when you have someone with a strong need like Michael™s.

Here is my sermon-  I envision a United States where the use of cord blood stem cells and autologous stem cells is commonplace.  What did the Snows have to lose?  Nothing except some money.  Adult Stem Cells have been proven safe time and time again.  And while it wasn't a miracle cure in this case, it did help.  Control of bowel movement in Spinal Cord Injury patients, 10% increases in heart function of  Heart Disease patients, or an increase in vision in Optic nerve disorders- while stem cells aren't a 100% cure in these cases, to the patient and their families- these differences in the patient's quality of life can be humongous.

Dr. Fernandez Vina,  the deputy chairman on the Repair Stem Cell Institute Science Advisory Board and one of the pioneers of stem cell therapy says it best:

For doctors who say that current stem cell therapies are "unproven," Dr. Fernandez Viña has the following response:

"How many patients must to be treated to say this is a cure? How many patients must die waiting for the word "cure?"

A lot of diseases are not totally cured with drugs but the laboratories talk about curing (HIV, Tuberculosis and a lot of malignant deseases). They say that the drugs "cure" but in reality the drugs improve the quality of life. Stem cells "cure" in the same sense. If a person is dying of diabetes and we improve the prognosis and he no longer needs insulin injections, we increase the C peptide, decrease the HbA1c, decrease protein in the urine, decrease the risk of amputation or kidney failure, in my book that is a "cure."

Dr. Vina is right.  Promises of Obama freeing up money for stem cell research??  Sure we can always do more research, but we already have something.  We already have something right now that can be used- Adult Stem Cells- to help millions of people.  It is at our fingertips and we refuse to use it-  the longer we wait, the more that die- that is a real tragedy.

Here is the full article