How Stem Cell Therapy Saved My Son
- Marty Kelley
Mother, Wife and Stem Cell Advocate
She fought for her son and won. She never gave up and followed her instincts. Her message is one of Hope, Determination and Unconditional Love. The Autism Hope Alliance had the pleasure of learning more about her journey and hearing her story.
- Autism Hope Alliance:
Can you tell us what is Stem Cell Therapy and why you are so passionate about it?
- Marty Kelley:
We received stem cell therapy at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama, which is where all of Ken’s treatments have taken place, they use stem cells harvested from donated human umbilical cord tissue after normal, healthy births called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Umbilical cord tissue is a rich source of the most potent MSCs, which modulate the immune system and possess anti-inflammatory properties. Each donating mother is tested for infectious diseases and has her medical history screened. Proper consent is received from each family prior to donation. Before they are approved for use in treatment all umbilical cord-derived stem cells are screened for infectious diseases to International Blood Bank Standards. Only a small percentage of donated umbilical cords pass the rigorous screening process. The actual treatments are relatively simple. There are just several quick intravenous injections of the purified MSCs over the course of several days. Each injection only takes a few minutes. Autism (and its degree of severity) has been significantly correlated with elevated levels of macrophage-derived cytokines (MDC) and thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), both of which are implicated in neuro-inflammation. Intravenous administration of umbilical cord MSCs can reduce inflammation in the brain and throughout the body, thus lowering the levels of MDC and TARC and improving a child’s symptoms. This is the rationale behind the treatment, which is currently in the process of being tested in controlled clinical trials.
- Autism Hope Alliance:
What changes if any did you see in your son after doing it?
- Marty Kelley:
After doing our first stem cell treatment, Kenneth started talking about the past for the first time! Within a few months, he was able to have simple conversation and at nine months after the cells, Kenneth potty trained and started reading. It was a few months before his ninth birthday.
Autism Hope Alliance:
How long before you noticed any changes?
- Marty Kelley:
Before stem cells, my husband and I categorized Ken as moderately to severely autistic. So, it was while we at the Stem Cell Institute getting our first stem cell treatment, where Ken started speaking clearer and adding more words to his limited sentences, we knew the cells were working. Changes continued to occur daily, such as Ken having a concept of time, describing his trip to Panama as “four hours in the car and 8 hours on the plane” in a news interview 2 weeks after getting cells!
- Autism Hope Alliance:
What therapies did you do before trying Stem Cell Therapy?
- Marty Kelley:
Like most parents on this journey, we tried biomedical intervention intensively before stem cells, starting when Ken was 6 years old. We bought a mild hyperbaric oxygen chamber for our home and treated him for two years with 900 hours of dives. Also, we used around 30 different vitamin supplements as well as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, along with fermented foods. We used the top autism biomedical doctors at the time (2006-2009), including having Ken’s gastrointestinal issues diagnosed with Dr. Arthur Krigsman at Thoughtful House and QEEG scans to give us markers for improvements.
- Autism Hope Alliance:
How did you even hear about stem cell therapy and how did you decide on the clinic to go to?
- Marty Kelley:
A news story in Orlando, Florida, introduced us to stem cell therapy and Daniel Faiella, a father who had treated his son at the Stem Cell Institute. I called Daniel every day for two years while I researched adult stem cells. It was still hard to decide on a clinic to use. I chose the Stem Cell Institute because of their reputation and what I researched. And a great quote that sums it all up is,
“You cannot always wait for the perfect time, sometimes you must dare to jump.”
As long as I was sure that umbilical cord cells would not cause any harm, it was just a matter of taking the “jump.”
- Autism Hope Alliance:
Where was your child before Stem Cell Therapy?
- Marty Kelley:
Before stem cells, Kenneth was out of control. He could not have a conversation with us. He could not tell us spontaneous things, like what happened at school, if he was sick or hurt, or things he needed. Ken often screamed and yelled and was violent and threw things and would run awayfrom us, ripping his clothes off, running naked. At the time, our physician did not know anything about stem cells, but recommended that we place Ken in an institution because of his out of control behavior. This devastated us.
In a documentary film featuring Ken’s story, we tried to capture the essence of Ken’s life before stem cells and then show the changes from the cells. This film is called Ken’s Journey To Recovery and can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FaGf0h20Vw
- Autism Hope Alliance:
Paint us a picture of where he is today?
- Marty Kelley:
Today, Ken is calm, peaceful, and polite–the sweetest joy in our lives. He is what life should be, happy and caring and intuitive. Ken has a passion for learning, I think because of all of the gaps with the autism. Even his teachers recognize his passion and he recently received an award in History in a mainstream classroom out of 70 neuro-typical peers.
- Autism Hope Alliance:
How many stem cell treatments did he get and do you do any therapies with him currently?
- Marty Kelley:
From 2009 to 2012, Ken has had six stem cell treatments. We have not had him on any diet or supplements since 2012. Our lives are very normal with limited therapies, except for speech therapy and school. We have not done any biomedical since 2009.
- Autism Hope Alliance:
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of doing Stem Cell Therapy?
- Marty Kelley:
If parents were considering stem cells for their child, I would recommend lots of research. Make sure you know that the treatment is safe and find a clinic with a good reputation. And don’t wait. Stem cells are amazing, but, like any medical treatment, it doesn’t work for everyone. For your child, however, it may be worth a try.
” Dream big dreams, small dreams have no magic”.
For more info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FaGf0h20Vw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6T9MZYM_wY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyU4m2ZF-pA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csJGUbonU4k
*This interview is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. It is for informational purposes only. Each parent knows their child the best and we recommend individuals to consult their doctor before considering any therapy or treatments.
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