This is an issue which I believe is relevant to everyone, not just families with special needs kids. Please let me know if you guys have any questions or want me to clarify anything.
As soon as I found out I was pregnant I instantly knew I wanted to save our daughter’s cord blood. [...]

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This is a fabulous video. This is a treatment we’ve considered for Nathan but, as much as we’d like to, we can’t afford to do everything. So for this year we are not planning any stem cell treatments.
I am so happy for these boys, for the benefits they gained from the [...]

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Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) researchers have confirmed that a diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids, patented as an LMN diet, helps boost the production of the brain’s stem cells -neurogenesis- and strengthens their differentiation in different types of neuron cells.
Polyphenols can be found in tea, beer, grapes, wine, olive oil, cocoa, nuts [...]

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Even though I didn’t really do the whole “thanksgiving” thing, being by myself here in Chile, I’ve been feeling quite thanful lately. While I’m typing this post, Nathan is happily asleep and Lucky is going wild playing with his favorite toy, an elmo doll. I think this puppy was really meant to come [...]

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Over the weekend while talking with my cousin in Buenos Aires, I made the final decision to stay in Santiago until mid-March. That’s about as late as I dare traveling while pregnant – I will be 7.5 months pregnant then. I’m excited that Nathan will have the chance to work with Ramon for [...]

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Nathan got his stem cells today – all was a success! The treatment was incredibly smooth, Nathan didn’t cry for more than 1 minute, and not even 5 minutes after the shot, his breath was nice and smelly. I know this treatment is going to be a fabulous success! Watch this channel [...]

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Since my post a few days ago about my conversation with Kirshner, much has happened. I’ve had several conversations with many people about stem cells and I am finding some contradictions.
She told me that after 3, the blood brain barrier is too thick and that kids won’t receive much benefit. But [...]

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I found this video and thought it was inspiring!
http://vimeo.com/5334992
Ella seems to have had tremendous success with adult stem cells.
I’ve been keeping an eye on this and hope to be able to take Nathan if we can one day raise enough money.

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http://www.livescience.com/health/090123-embryonic-stem-cells.html
The federal government has approved the first study by a company that will use human embryonic stem cells injected into a human.
The Geron corporation announce the approval today. The therapy used in the study is designed to treat spinal cord injuries by injecting stem cells — which are able to transform into the many different [...]

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I have more photos from our trip:

These are the photos that I took while we were in Dominican Republic for Nathan’s 2nd stem cell treatment. The hotel was all inclusive with lots of entertainment and activities and we had such a wonderful time.
Something finally shifted for me. After getting close to a nervous [...]

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So far I am happy with the results we’ve seen after this last stem cell treatment.
His muscle tone has relaxed. He has more range of motion in his hips and his feet aren’t as tight all the time as before. His hands are more open and relaxed and he seems to have [...]

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We just returned from stem cell therapy in Dominican Republic.
I think pictures speak louder than words.

The “watching like a hawk” begins as we wait for miracles to start!

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This morning as I watched Nathan scooting a little bit on his belly I couldn’t help but catch my breath at the journey we’ve been through in the last 2 years, in the last 3 months. He scooted forward about 1 inch, but you couldn’t have found a prouder mama.
Many people have [...]

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I’m thrilled to be writing this update.
Last Wednesday, Nathan started saying words! I didn’t want to post until I heard him say it again, but I’ve heard him use words every day for the last 3 days. You can imagine how excited we are!
First he said “agua” and looked at the cup [...]

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Usually when we go out to dinner with Nathan we don’t worry about moving things out of his reach, like most parents of toddlers do. We leave the fork, knife, plate, cup right in front of where we’re feeding him. Last week we realized it was time to start changing our ways. [...]

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Here are a couple of videos that I took tonight showing some of the improvements:

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I went to Dominican Republic expecting a miracle. Will he walk out of the clinic? Maybe he will say his first full, clear word. What will it be? All throughout the long journey I kept fantasizing about what the miracle would be.

I went with a heart full of faith. Something [...]

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Nathan and I got back this morning.
We are off to a Wiggles concert, so I can’t write a long update, but in the meantime, here are our pictures for the trip:
DR portraits
Here’s a sneak peak:

Enjoy!

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After a very long day we made it to Dominican Republic. We made it to the hotel at 11pm local time.
Nathan was an absolute angel of course. He was happy the whole time, even though the trip was intense. What an awesome little guy.
Of course we had a couple of mishaps.
First, our [...]

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We’re leaving in 10 min’s to go to the Dominican Republic!
Please keep Nathan in your prayers, particularly on Friday. Please pray that the stem cells go straight to his brain and become brain matter. Please pray that there are no problems with the procedure (it’s just an IV).
We’ll post as soon as we [...]

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So, after much deliberation, we’ve made the decision – we’re taking Nathan for Stem Cell therapy next week in the Dominican Republic.
We are hopeful, nervous, excited, apprehensive. But in the end, we decided, it’s a risk free, painless treatment that offers the potential to help him. So we’re gonna do it.
We leave Thursday [...]

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