Help give Stash a better life

Many of you know our son, Stash. If perhaps you don’t, here is a little background. Stash was progressing, hitting milestones and starting to speak like every other 1-1 1⁄2 year old child.

One day, shortly after some routine vaccinations, Stash got very sick and had a fever of 104. As first time parents were very scared and took him to the hospital.

The hospital was a very traumatizing experience for us all. We trusted the medical staff to help our son. After several attempts to run a line to draw blood, they informed us they needed to catheterize him to check for dehydration. This was a blood curdling screaming to the point of hyperventilation occurrence for our little guy. They were able to get some fever reducing pain reliever in him while we waited for results. They sent us home with reports of no dehydration or any issues at all. His fever was down so we felt ok.

We followed up the next day with his pediatrician who informed us that he was in fact severely dehydrated and prescribed him antibiotics as he thought it was some bug.

The next few days proved just as stressful and confusing for us. It felt like we brought a different child home from the hospital. Initially we figured he was still feeling under the weather. Stash stopped using any words he had, and even stopped babbling any sounds at all. He lost all eye contact, even his bowels had changed. He started exhibiting behaviors he had not shown before. Our happy, cuddly, big appetite for any food little boy was now not eating, not looking at us, walking on his toes, flapping his arms and was resistant to touch. His mother Maryann was the first to notice these changes. On several occasions we made appointments with the pediatrician with concerns, he repeatedly tried to assure us there was nothing to be concerned about.

About two years later still with no words, sounds, eye contact or milestones met, Stash was diagnosed with Autism.

Over the years we have tried everything we could find to try and improve Stash's life. We've tried an array of supplements, diets, speech and behavioral therapy's and so much more. Some of these things led to gains, some had us going backwards, and others nothing. For a very long time all we wanted was to hear him say Mommy and Daddy. Which we finally did but not until he was about 6 years old.(We had no clue if he'd ever speak at all) He still has trouble communicating, we as his parents can understand better than others but sometimes it can still be tough, but he has come a long way.

Stash is also still lacking in several basic areas that most of us take for granted, and that tends to make his life more difficult; things such as sleeping through the night, communicating his thoughts and feelings, developing friendships and other relationships, he also has trouble comprehending basic concepts like danger and time. I could go on and on about these things, but I will now get to the point of our You Caring account

Recently a different kind of treatment was brought to our attention from several friends and family members. Maryann and I are always hopeful when we hear these things but skeptical as well. We along with other family members have researched this treatment. We checked the saftey, the pro's and the con's and other’s experiences. After extensive research and discussions, we decided if there is any chance of improved life for Stash we have to try.

We have applied and been accepted for Stash to receive Mesenchymal Stem Cell Treatment. These are stem cells that are derived from healthy donated umbilical cords that will be introduced into Stash's blood intravenously. Here is a link to the clinic cellmedicine.com, please research for more in-depth information. In a nutshell, what this treatment does is it relieves inflammation from the brain and the gut of people with autism. (Not everyone knows but most people who are on the spectrum have inflammed guts or digestive issues.) Hundreds of people on the Autistic Spectrum that have received this type of treatment have little to no more autistic behaviors, but almost all have had tremendous leaps and gains. If effective this would lead to a better way of life for Stash at the very least.

We are not naive to the fact that nothing is perfect or guaranteed, we are not expecting a cure.

We will try anything for him as long as it is safe. We would never subject Stash to anything that could possible harm him.

This treatment is currently only available in Panama. There are current trials going on in the United States and an entire department dedicated to this treatment at MIT, but as of now it is not available stateside. Panama is the only country, as of right now, to pass the law allowing the use of these specific stem cells. Dr. Neil Riordan PA, PHD is the head of this clinic and one of the leading doctors in the world when it comes to mesenchymal stem cells.

We are trying to raise $20,000.00, that will cover his treatment.

We are here asking for any help any of you can give us, and/or sharing this with your friends . Please help us reach our goal so we can give our little boy the chance of the best life possible. Thank you.