Hopeful...

It has been quite a while since I posted, mostly because we have been busy.  Mostly mostly cuz I kept resetting my password and forgetting it by the time I had time to blog.  :)

A lot has happened in the past few months.  Drew was in Lokomat again, we had an awesome holiday season with our family, and received some incredibly good news.

We made the decision to bank our baby's cord blood when I was a few months pregnant.  There is a history of Cancer in my family, and we lost my mom to Breast Cancer in 1989.  This thing called 'cord blood banking' was relatively new.  We talked about it, prayed about it, thought it was a good insurance policy for our family and decided to do it.  Cord blood is basically stem cells that can become whatever the body needs them to be.  The hope is that if there is a terminal disease such as cancer, or a brain injury, or neurological impairments, that the pure stem cells might find that area and improve function to those cells.

We had NO idea when we banked his cord blood that we might be able to use them for Drew and the Cerebral Palsy that resulted from his traumatic birth.  He was deprived of oxygen and had a bleed on his brain from his birth.  Over the years, I have kept track of different clinical studies but the timing/parameters never fit. 

This past November, I learned of a study being done for a single implantation of the child's cord blood, from Cord Blood Registry (our blood bank), for kids less than 12 years old, specifically for researching the benefits for Cerebral Palsy.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  It is a perfect fit!  I contacted the Neuro in Augusta, GA and Drew was accepted into the study.

That means that we will travel to GA 4 times--the first being February 14-15, then Mid-May, then August and then February of 2014.  Drew will receive his stem cells either on Feb 15, or in May.  It's a double blind study, so no one knows.  If he doesn't get it the first visit, he will definatley get it the second visit.  They do this so they can assess if he has improved function, or if we are witnessing a 'placebo effect'.  The last 2 visits are strictly for follow-up.

Hopefully, Drew will gain motor functions and/or language that he never had before.  Those of you that know Drew, know that he has never been content to be confined to a chair or any other apparatus.  He is always moving, wants to walk, talk, dance, and sing.  He has literally broken wheelchairs, bathchairs, strollers and has scars from the braces he needs to wear to keep his feet and arms in proper alignment.  We know he has a lot to say--he comes by it honestly, since his lineage is filled with bigmouths!  (No apologies needed--my family is the best there is, hands-down)  His spirit has ALWAYS amazed us and everyone that knows him. 

Whatever happens, we are realistic in our expectations.  He is already perfect--we just want him to be the kid he should've been, who HE wants to be, and be comfortable in his own body.  Please support us in this adventure with your prayers and positivity.  He continues to rock our world with his essence, and we just want to help him be comfortable and happy.

I will continue to blog about this, so check back, blogger friends!  We love you all.