Andrew Kijek, 11, cannot crawl, walk, talk, hold his head upright or control his muscles. He was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy a year after suffering oxygen deprivation during a difficult birth.
"He's already perfect," said Maureen Kijek of Shelby Township, gently cradling her son's head after a recent physical therapy session. "We just want him to be happy."
Andrew's parents are hoping for a medical miracle this week when he'll be infused with his own umbilical cord blood stem cells. The procedure is part of the first Food and Drug Administration-approved trial on the use of cord blood stem cells for cerebral palsy; Andrew will be the second Michigan child to participate.....
The first Michigan participant in the trial was Allison Thurman, 3, of St. Clair Shores. Allison, who was clinically diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy in 2010, completed the trial treatments a year ago. Since then, her mother, Erica Thurman, said she has noticed improvement in her daughter's speech and ability to use her legs.
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