Drew’s CP Blog

Stem Cells Treatment #4

August 12th, 2008

Drew received his 4th stem cell treatment via lumbar puncture on Monday.  He put up a huge ruckus with starting the IV.  The past few IV insertions have been difficult as he is very strong.  It usually takes a couple trys because he is one uncooperative little cookie.  The lumbar puncture went well only the Valium didn’t make him as sedated as before.  We are not allowed in the room with him but we could tell when he was wheeled out with the nurses that he gave everyone a hefty workout.  He calmed down after we started reading him some of his books.

It was difficult keeping him calm during his 6 hours of bedrest.  After 5 1/2 hours we gave up and wheeled him around the unit.  He was still whining and cursing at us, so we asked for some sleeping meds at 8pm.  They gave him phenergan through his IV and it worked like a charm!  Drew slept for 11 hours and the night before he slept 10 hours!  This morning he was so gooey (loose) for PT; he barely needed stretching.  I’m guessing because he got two full nights of sleep in a row.  We actually brought benedryl with us for the plane ride and we started using it this week.  Without medication, I honestly feel that he won’t sleep more than 4 hours in a 24 hour period.

Dr. Tony feels that Drew’s temperment and lack of sleep is because of getting poked all the time.  They feel when we return home Drew will be much more relaxed and we will start to see lots of improvements.  Sometimes Mike and I just can’t believe how bad Drew can be here.  I half expect Drew’s head to spin 360 degrees and to vomit green goo.  He is however loving all of the attention and showing off his smarts.  He loves it when there is a crowd  of people and Mike goes through their names while Drew looks at them.  He has the entire staff’s names memorized.  Sometimes he trips Mike up!

Our next stem cell treatment is Friday and that is via IV.  We also learned that is Beike doing a trial with utilizing the stem cells from the actual umbilical cord itself.  Drew is receiving his stem cells right now from the actual umbilical cord blood.  Also, just this spring they started using patients’ own bone marrow to harvest stem cells then injecting it back into them.  The bone marrow is supposed to have either 500 million or 1 billion stem cells (I forgot the exact number).  With each of Drew’s treatments he receives 10-15 million.  We also found out that people with cerebral palsy do not benefit from bone marrow treatment.  They don’t show much improvement, so there isn’t a point to obtain the stem cells from this source.  People with other disabilities/disorders have shown improvement however.  They take about 300 ml of bone marrow, which is probably a lot for a two-year-old even if he is a large fellow.

Anyways, if people show improvements from the umbilical cord itself then they might start using this source of stem cells in the late fall.  Can you believe how fast things move along here?  Imagine what they’ll be able to offer people in a couple years.  All of this information I’ve heard from other patients that have talked with the doctors here.  If anyone has specific questions I would contact Beike itself for more detailed/accurate answers.

My hope for the near future would be that as soon as someone or any infant suffers brain injury, stem cells would immediately be transfused. 

Drew says hello to everyone back home and wants everyone to know that he made really stinky poo this morning.

Mike, Kristin, & Drew

Entry Filed under: cp,Uncategorized