" He’s making more eye contact, and initiating the eye contact himself. He’ll come to me wanting things. Normally he would just walk around in circles and get anxious and upset, and I’d have to work it out. But now he’s coming to me. "
Kaelyn's video can be viewed by clicking the Play button on the video above.
Age 6, USA Cerebral Palsy
Medical History
Kaelyn was a healthy Child until she suffered an anoxic ischemic brain injury during an MRI. During the MRI, she accidentally extubated herself which caused her to choke. Her brain was deprived of oxygen. After the accident, her doctors didn't give her much chance. Her parents were aggressive in seeking out new therapies and Kaelyn, though still physically disabled, has thrived. Her mom Sandra describes her condition before coming to China, "She cannot walk, talk crawl, any of that stuff, but she completely understands and is aware of everything it's just primarily physical now. Ever since she has had the injury both at the hospital and after that me and her dad have been very aggressive with her different therapies, as well as many alternative type therapies." Her parent's had previously taken Kaelyn for stem cell therapy. Her mom describes how this informed their decision to come to China, "This isn't the first time we have done stem cells. We have done it to some extent, not to this degree, but we have done it in the past. We've been able to maintain what we got based on doing a lot of therapy. Getting her through the humps or the plateaus. So our expectation is to go back home get the work in her and then if we see any changes. This isn't a holiday for us, it may seem like it but we look at it as just a beginning to the next step."
Treatment in China
Kaelyn received 6 umbilical cord blood stem cell and 1 Bone Marrow aspiration injections. She also received physical therapy, occupational therapy, electric wave therapy, and acupuncture.
Condition after Treatment
With the combination of therapy and stem cells, Kaelyn's condition slowly began to change. Her mom describes some of the first changes they saw, "She seems to be getting stronger, both in the trunk, as well as in the arms. Before her movement was very sporadic and very robotic. Now it seems to be more purposeful. She reaches like she used to, but it seems to be more on her intent, and she seems to get to the stuff better now." Thinking about bringing Kaelyn back for another round of treatments, Kaelyn's father said "As far as the distance, we never thought about the distance. It is 'where do we think is the best benefit for her'. And if we believe that is in Qingdao or Shanghai or whereever the hospital is at that point. It doesn't matter to us."