A woman crippled in a road accident is on her feet again thanks to revolutionary embryonic stem cell treatment in New Delhi.
Sonya Smith was run over by her own car in Brisbane 17 months ago as she tried to stop it rolling down a hill with her three young daughters inside.
After two months of injections and physiotherapy, she has regained control of her bladder and bowel, sensation in her thighs and feet, and leg muscle growth. She can stand and walk with the aid of callipers.
Now back home, she has called on the Federal Government to give other Australians the same opportunity.
One of those is adventure loving Michael D’Amelio , from Melbourne, (pictured with his girlfriend) who was crippled after a sky-diving accident in Switzerland went horribly wrong. He plans to go to China for similar treatment in August and is trying to raise $30,000 for the treatment.
Michael hopes that one day he will play football and basketball, compete in triathlons and go hiking again. Recently, he typed the words “walk” and “paraplegic” into Google. Of the tens of thousands of websites that came up, he decided the option that showed the most promise was stem cell therapy in China.
This is such a terrific picture of a great looking, hunky man with his girlfriend Shennae in hysterics; he looks so positive, optimistic and relaxed. If you are in that situation, you will try anything to get up on your feet again. Let’s hope the treatment is successful. These examples are two good reasons why we need to support embryonic stem cell research.
I absolutely totally 100% agree Ellee.
This sort of treatment does seem to offer the best hope to patients. If all governments spent less on wageing war and more on this type of research, young men in Michael’s situation wouldn’t be having to raise the money themselves.
It would be wonderful if this treatment would work for Michael and for the many others who end up like this, however much research has to be done before it can be an accepted treatment available to all. One successful treatment is not a proof that it works since there are so many factors involved. However I am sure that many researchers are working in this area and hopefully it will lead to success.
Hi Elle,
don’t know what to say
Easy to promise miracles
not so easy to repair broken teeth
even more so to repair broken nerves.
It is important that we first do right the things which can be done, and not try and build roofs on houses with no foundation or side walls
His optimistic air will help him a lot in his determination.
Hunky men don’t do it for me, Ellee but still – hope he gets back on his feet, plus those lovely ladies.
I can never understand why medical science cannot be used always to help the living; a tragic and difficult life could be a possibility for any of us. I wish them the best possible result.
Sonya’s story was on one of our current affairs programmes last night. It was very positive and very uplifting. I can see nothing wrong with this research…if people can be helped from it, it has to be a plus.
I’m a quadriplegic also.
I hope it works for u I will try it also good luck 2 u.
r u going to nanshan hospital?
I have many health problems but I found a product that releases stem cells from your own bone marrow. If you have any questions or concerns you can visit rosemarienewman.stemtechbiz.com to learn more about the product and then e-mail me @ krystalnewman24@gmail.com