New Delhi:
In a first, a paralysed man in Bakersfield, California has regained his upper body movements after receiving stem cells treatment.
23-year-old Kristopher Boesen met with an accident and received life-changing cervical spine injuries which left him paralysed neck down.
Doctors told Kris that his body lower the neck shall never be functional but they still offered him a 'risky and experimental stem cell treatment.
And like a drowning man catches at straws, Kris also did the same as the risk was worth taking.
The stem cells treatment has the capability to repair injured nervous tissue through replacement of damaged cells.
A team of doctors led by Dr. Liu started the procedure in April last year. They injected 10 million AST-OPC1 cells directly into Kris’ cervical spinal cord.
After the three weeks of surgery, Kristopher started to show the signs of improvement.
He his hands started moving and he could answer phone calls merely 2 months after the life-changing surgery. From none at all to a minimal movement, Kris recovered two spinal cord levels and started sending messages from his brain to the muscle groups to create movement.
“All I’ve wanted from the beginning was a fighting chance…But if there’s an opportunity for me to walk again, then heck yeah! I want to do anything possible to do that," Kris told The Hearty Soul.
However, doctors are not sure if his condition can further improve but shall continue experimenting with stem cells.
The happy Kristopher Boesen is hopeful of walking again in life and training his hands and arms.
