| Maia's Cord Blood Miracle - Part 2 of 2Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:28:45 -0800 by CordbankNewZealandPart 2 of 2 - When four year old Maia Friedlander greets her dad with a hug at the end of the day it has extra special meaning for the both of them. A second chance thanks to a groundbreaking procedure pioneered by Dr Joanna Kurtzberg, a leading paediatric oncologist at Duke University in North Carolina, USA. We first heard about cord blood being used to repair brain injury when Mary Schneider, who was the first person to have the treatment for her son Ryans cerebral palsy, visited New Zealand in April this year. Three years on, Mary says Ryan is clear of all issues, needs no more therapies, and is completely well a typical five-year-old boy. So Daniel and I were determined to get Maia into the Duke programme and we emailed and phoned almost daily for the next four months. We felt we had nothing to lose and owed it to Maia to see whether this could change her life too. Their persistence paid off. In late August, Maia and her mum Jillian flew to Duke, to have the stem cells her parents stored with CordBank, put back into her blood stream via an intravenous drip. Once theyre in her system, its a matter of waiting for her cord blood stem cells to find their way to the damaged tissue in her brain and start rebuilding it. Jillian didnt have to wait long. Only two days after Maias re-infusion, her balance seemed to have improved. At first I thought I was imagining the changes, out of wishful thinking, but as every day brought more changes I realized I was witnessing our very own miracle. Her eyes became more focused and alert, she could run with confidence and she even started talking things she simply hadnt done before. Related: cordbank cord blood stem cells new zealand brain injury cerebral palsy parkinsons alzheimers heart liver | |
|
|
| Maia's Cord Blood Miracle - Part 1 of 2Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:05:45 -0800 by CordbankNewZealandPart 1 of 2 - When four year old Maia Friedlander greets her dad with a hug at the end of the day it has extra special meaning for the both of them. A second chance thanks to a groundbreaking procedure pioneered by Dr Joanna Kurtzberg, a leading paediatric oncologist at Duke University in North Carolina, USA. We first heard about cord blood being used to repair brain injury when Mary Schneider, who was the first person to have the treatment for her son Ryans cerebral palsy, visited New Zealand in April this year. Three years on, Mary says Ryan is clear of all issues, needs no more therapies, and is completely well a typical five-year-old boy. So Daniel and I were determined to get Maia into the Duke programme and we emailed and phoned almost daily for the next four months. We felt we had nothing to lose and owed it to Maia to see whether this could change her life too. Their persistence paid off. In late August, Maia and her mum Jillian flew to Duke, to have the stem cells her parents stored with CordBank, put back into her blood stream via an intravenous drip. Once theyre in her system, its a matter of waiting for her cord blood stem cells to find their way to the damaged tissue in her brain and start rebuilding it. Jillian didnt have to wait long. Only two days after Maias re-infusion, her balance seemed to have improved. At first I thought I was imagining the changes, out of wishful thinking, but as every day brought more changes I realized I was witnessing our very own miracle. Her eyes became more focused and alert, she could run with confidence and she even started talking things she simply hadnt done before. Related: cordbank cord blood stem cells new zealand brain injury cerebral palsy parkinsons alzheimers heart liver | |
|
|
| | |
|
|
| | |
|
| |
