The recent advancements in medical therapies in using adult stem cell therapies has shown significant in the quality of life of several cerebral palsy patients treated in China. Neil has been accepted for adult stem cell therapies in China so he has been desperately seeking financial support.

Neil’s constant prayers and reaching out for help was answered by the Catholic Church. Reverand Warren Weise splits his time between two Roman Catholic churches, St. Patricks Church and the Mother Mary Parrish, both of Phenix City, AL. Reverend Weise, a theologian with four degrees, is dedicated to helping his community. After meeting with Neil and introducing him into the church community, Reverend Weise is heading the fund raising for Neil’s adult stem cell therapies in China. Neil’s treatments are scheduled for next month, December 28th 2010.

Our sincere thanks to Reverend Thomas Weise, and the church community of Phenix City Alabama.

God Bless!

Father Thomas Weise
1502 Broadway street
Phenix City, AL 26867
Mailing Address:
PO Box 147
Phenix City, AL 36867
ph: 1-334-298-9025
fax: 1-334-298-9233

Carol Peterson
Stem Cell Advocate
Awareness Program Coordinator
ph: 1-941-235-008
fx: 1-941-624-6133

http://www.youtube.com/user/carolptrsn

http://www.stemcellsadvt.weebly.com

http://www.miraclceofsight.com

http://www.stemcellsforhope.org

At the age of 2 years Neil had a difficult time crawling and he wasn’t gaining weight.  He was diagnosed with mixed cerebral palsy and was the size of the average 10 month baby.  At 5 years, Neil was struggling to walk as his grandparents walked behind him and kept him from falling.  For nine consecutive months, doctors had a series of casts on Neil’s legs to straighten them. When the final cast was removed, Neil never walked again.

Neil was not accepted in the public school’s kindergarten program in Alabama, so his grandmother enrolled him in the Calvary Christian School’s kindergarten program in Phenix City.  Neil’s grandmother took him to school everyday in a stroller, as he looked more like a 3 year old than a 6 year old.

For grades 1 to 3, Neil was back in public school, but now he was in special needs classes which was helpful for his physical difficulties.  Neil maintained an A+ average from grade school through high school.

Neil’s thirst for knowledge and his quest to be the best he could be was an increasing struggle as his body slowly deteriorated. He is a quadriplegic with full body involvement, which means his head and neck are affected. He has limited use of his left hand and the extension of his arm. He has full use of his right hand and right arm. The muscles in his legs are too weak to support his body weight.  If he tries to stand his entire body shakes and he falls to the ground and is unable to get up on his own. He has problems with visual scanning of both eyes, which makes it difficult to read a paragraph of words.

Knowing Neil’s ambitions and thirst for knowledge, his grandparents helped him go to college. Neil received a scholarship to Chattahoochee Valley Community College. The college was not set up for someone with Neil’s disabilities so his grandfather took him to school everyday and stayed in class with him to help him through the day. Neil graduated from junior college Suma Cum Laude with an Associates degree in Art and a 3.8 GPA. He went on to Troy University, with a major in psychology and maintained straight A’S. Near the end of the first year his grandfather died, and Neil has been unable to continue his education.

Neil has continually searched for a treatment or someone to help him improve his quality of life. He has researched to find something to help his deteriorating body, he started reading everything he could find on stem cells, as that seemed promising for the future. The problem being, how far off is the future?. … For Neil, his grandfather had died, his grandmother now the sole person left to care for Neil is 83 years old and Neil’s body is slowly deteriorating.

Neil’s search led him to an article about a toddler in Florida, Cameron Petersen, who received umbilical cord blood stem cells for optic nerve hypoplasia. From all the information Neil gathered he discovered that this little blind boy could now see and his health had improved as a result of the stem cell treatment. Upon further research, while looking for more information on the most qualified facilities in the world he was lead to Don Margolis of the Repair Stem Cell Institute.  After numerous conversations and with the guidance of Mr. Margolis, Neil also discovered that Carol Petersen, Cameron’s grandmother, was now an advocate of adult stem cells because of the improvements her grandson gained from his treatment.

Neil read information on several web sites about patients’ improvements after receiving umbilical stem cell treatments. He also read that many of these patients were getting together to share information about their treatments with the public at various venues around the country as part of a Stem Cell Awareness program.

Now age 29, Neil contacted Carol and asked her to help him!…. As an advocate, she helps people with their needs. The regenerative capabilities of umbilical cord blood stem cells have given patients with cerebral palsy significant improvements and a better quality of life. Neil desperately wants to be one of these as his time is running out…. Neil passed the first big test earlier this year when he was accepted for treatment, scheduled as follows:

*Admission date: December 28, 2010 *Discharge date: August 28, 2011

*Additional notes: Patient will be traveling with his grandmother. The patient will be staying in the hospital with his grandmother for eight months.  He will receive the first round of six injections in the first month. He will receive physical therapies, 6 days per week for the following 6 months. He will receive the second round of six injections in the eighth month.

Note from Don Margolis:

Now that you’ve read Neil’s story, you know how much he needs our help.  Just weeks away is not a lot of time, but I know we can make a significant change in Neil’s life if we join together to help him.

We can give Neil the chance to live his life in a meaningful way.  We can give Neil the same benefits other cerebral palsy patients have enjoyed from this stem cell treatment.

Neil has done everything right, but his latest fight needs our help.  With his treatment just weeks away, there’s no time to spare to raise the funds he needs now.

So much is riding on the outcome of our efforts,

Please donate what you can.  Together we can do this!  Every donation will help in this important cause!  Neil is counting on us to come through for him!

Thank you for your support.

Please Donate now by clicking this link, which will take you to Stem Cells for Hope, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization:

Click here to donate http://www.stemcellsforhope.org/

Thank you for your generosity.

By DAVE POWELL

Feeling Fit Publisher

I recently attended a stem cell awareness seminar in Tampa. There were four doctors on the program, including our own Dr. David Klein, an ophthalmologist from Port Charlotte.

Testimonials were given by many describing their experience with stem cell therapy. There were numerous stories, however, they all had a common theme: Hope. Not only for an improvement in their lives, but possibly an outright cure for their condition.

Eye health was the topic of many of the testimonies. In particular, children who were born blind because of optic nerve hypoplasia.

Braden Hart, from Mo., was there to offer his story. He was diagnosed as legally blind in 1995. The doctors went on to say that there is no known treatment for optic nerve hypoplasia and nothing could be done to help improve his sight. His vision was 20/400 in the right eye and limited light perception in the left eye.

His father, Brad was searching for medical answers in 2007, and read about a girl from Mo. with the same condition as Braden who had traveled to China for an experimental stem cell procedure. After hearing the improvements the mother hoped her child would have, Brad was finally hopeful.

Stem cell procedures are not FDA approved in the United States — the procedure in China used umbilical cord cells — not the controversial embryonic stem cells. Deciding to travel halfway around the world was not an easy decision to make. The expense alone could be prohibitive.

Brad turned to his community for help and the people of Hermann had the insight to see past the stigma of stem cells, and the money came.

In June of 2008 after raising enough for the treatment and enduring a 23 hour flight, Braden and Brad arrived in Qingdao, China. For the following month Chengyang People’s Hospital would be Braden and Brad’s home.

He received four lumbar punctures and one IV injection. With no guarantee of progress, Brad was optimistic.

Braden returned with no optic improvements. In November Braden went to his doctor only to be told that his vision was still 20/400 in his right eye.

Last May, Braden’s vision report showed his acuity had improved to 20/100 and his optic photo’s showed a robust blood flow to the nerve and a pinker, plumper nerve.

In July 2010 Braden’s examination by Dr. Larry Brothers showed his visual acuity had improved in the right eye to 20/60 and 20/240 in the left eye.

Braden is now a freshman in high school and is the manager of the football team. Next year he hopes that he will make the team and be playing football. Like most teenagers he is looking forward to the day when he will get his drivers license, something that just three years ago was not in the realm of possibility.

Braden’s experience is being realized time and again for those able to raise the 30 to 50 thousand dollars necessary to fly to China for the procedure.

Our super cautious FDA denies our citizens the right to have this procedure in this country. Adult stem cell therapy has to be dealt with apart from embryonic stem cell therapy.

Adult stem cells are obtained from umbilical cords (medical waste) and from our own bodies — either from the blood or from bone marrow. Adult stem cells have had great success and with virtually no negative side effects.

Yet, we still seem to get the knee jerk reaction on stem cell research and use because people tie it to abortion and killing babies.

Nothing could be further from the truth when we are talking about adult stem cells.

August 28,2010 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Free Admission – open to the public

SEMINAR FOCUS:

Learn the Truth regarding the differences between embryonic and adult
stem cell treatments. Doctors, patients and others will share their
knowledge and experiences with you and answer any questions you may
have on stem cells.

Regenerative stem cell therapies for diseases, disorders and injuries
will be discussed: ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, Ataxia, Autism, Cerebral
Palsy, Diabetes, Heart disease, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular
Dystrophy, ONH & optic disorders, Parkinson’s disease, Spinal
Cord Injury and Stroke patients have shown significant improvements
after treatment.

Several doctors will speak about the progress they have noted in their
patients. They will share information with you both pre and post stem
cell therapies. You will also hear from several stem cell patients who
will share their personal experiences and views of this regenerative
therapy. You can also read documented case studies of adult stem cell
patients.

David Granovsky, author of “The Stem Cell Blog” and the 1st children’s
book on stem cells  “Super Stemmys Doris and the Super Cells”
will begin the discussions.

We look forward to meeting you!

LOCATION:

Florida Airport Marriott Hotel conference room.

4200 George J. Bean Pkwy.

Tampa, Florida 33607

Hotel Reservations 800-564-3440 , ask for Stem Cell awareness room
block or http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tpaap
group Code= STCSTCA

SIGN UP:

Please RSVP by filling out the following survey:

STEM CELL AWARENESS SEMINAR SIGN UP SHEET/SURVEY

ORGANIZER’S CONTACT INFO:

Carol Petersen

Stem Cell Awareness Association
Adult Stem Cell Advocate
Program Coordinator

Ph: 941-235-0088
mailto:carolptrsn@msn.com
http://www.stemcellaware.com

ALBANY, GA (WALB) – Jacob Bradfield is a handsome, happy boy. But early on, his parents realized that there was a problem.

Chris Dollar, Jacob’s Grandfather said, ”within six months, my daughter realized something wasn’t just right with his eyes.”

Jacob has Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, a disease of the eyes where the optic nerves don’t develop properly. While there was no cure available in the U.S., in China…

“They had good results with stem cell injections,” said Dollar.

The trip to get the procedure done, however, was going to cost $40,000. So the family started raising money, building this web site and putting collection jars at businesses around town.

Everything was going fine, raising $30,400 in 13 months until Saturday. That day two men came into T & S Tires and took the jar that they had been using to collect money for Jacob. But just when it seemed this story had taken its darkest turn, some blue skies appeared on the horizon.

Like many people, Ken Smith of Cordele had a strong reaction when he heard the news of the theft.

“I know times are hard, but that’s about the bottom of the barrel…to take that,” he said.

So although he had no ties to Jacob’s family, he decided to do something about the $140 that was lost.

“We’re mighty fortunate here that we can replace that money for him and hope others would help also.”

And they have been. Forty miles away from Smith’s business in Cordele, Peggy Lee had a similar idea: ”we would like to replace the money that was stolen,” she said.

Even at the scene of the theft, there has been an outpouring of support. Customers have been coming in all day just to donate. Smith, who has three children of his own, says he has one good reason to help out.

“It could easily be anyone’s child. There, kids are not given a choice with their afflictions,” he said.

While Dollar is not surprised by the reaction of the community since the robbery, he did have one thing that he wanted to say to those that are giving.

“You can’t thank people enough,” he said.

And if the spirit of community can stay strong, then future generations will have something to look forward to.

Chris Dollar says the family is planning to travel to China in January for the procedure.

To find out how you can help out, you can click here.

Girl, 2, accepted for stem cell procedure

At the end of a whirlwind 24 hours after Avaia Di Marco was born, her parents, John and Ashely, learned how the rest of her life may be spent.
Diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cystic fibrosis, Avaia, who just turned two this week, is not able to do very much on her own.
The disease affects all four of her limbs and causes involuntary movement and prevents her from, not only walking, but sitting up on her own. Her vision is also severely impaired, and she is limited to being able to detect light and colours.
And just this spring, Avaia stopped eating and now must receive food through a feeding tube.
“It’s been a struggle,” said Ashley.
Like many parents with severely disabled children, Ashley has become something of an expert on her daughter’s condition. Through information provided by doctors and contacts she’s met on internet chat rooms, she’s learned of an experimental treatment being offered in Germany.
The more she’s looked into it, researching its potential, as well as its risks, Ashely became convinced it was something she needed to try.
The treatment uses stem cells and would involve using a needle to extract them from Avaia’s hip. From there, the cells — which have the ability to grow into any other type of cell in the body — are turned into neurons and injected into spine through where they travel up into the brain.
Ashley said she’s heard stories of near miraculous recovery following the treatment, with some patients regaining full movement.
She said there’s “tonnes of stories of all these people who have gone, and it’s helped them.”
And while everyone has such dramatic improvement, anything that helps at all would be worth a try, she said.
The treatment is being researched in Canada, but Di Marco said there’s is no opportunity yet for patient trials.
But the treatment does not come without a cost. To send the family over and pay for the treatment, as well as the post-procedure medication, they will need to pay $30,000.
“It’s worth every penny to try,” she said. “The quality of life that she’s been given — it’s definitely not fair.”
To help the Di Marco’s out, Ashley’s mother, Lynn, who works at the Avondale at Carlton and York streets, is organizing a series of fundraisers with her other daughter, Brittany and co-worker Dawn Bomers.
The first is a yard sale and barbecue at John’s parents’ place in Thorold. The sale takes place July 31 starting at 9 a.m. at 87 Collier Rd.
On Aug. 7, there will be a bowlathon at Parkway Lanes, at 327 Ontario St. The events rolls out at 5 p.m.
On Aug. 9 between 5-7 p.m., the McDonalds at 85 Ontario St. will be donating 30 per cent of their profits of meals sold to those with a special Avaia’s Journey ticket.
And on Aug. 28, just a couple weeks before the family sets out for Germany, there will be a casino night held at Canadian Corp located at 7 Clairmont St. in Thorold.

Joan Dean is 59 years and she is from Morristown, TN. She and I have been married since May 2001.