Adrian was a 16 year old boy from Norway when he was admitted to Puhua International Hospital for stem cell treatment for his cerebral palsy. He suffered from cerebral palsy due to a brain injury after birth. He had “Cognitive, speech and mobility impairment for 16 years after birth”, with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Before coming to Puhua International Hospital, Adrian’s mother had tried many treatments for him. In their search for a higher quality of life for Adrian, they eventually made a decision to come to PIH in Beijing.
Before Adrian's stem cell therapy for CP, he was not able to keep steady balance, and he had poor coordination in his movements.
Adrian suffered from bad eye sight (both eyes) as well as bad hearing. He uses hearing-aid, distance glasses, as well as reading glasses. He was not able to speak long complete sentences but a few simple words like ‘Mamma, Pappa.’ His speech was also slurred. He could not concentrate well. He knew all letters and numbers, but he could not write or read: his learning ability was relatively poor. Two weeks before his arrival in China, Adrian performed an IQ test, which revealed that his IQ was the equivalent of an eight year old child.
After stem cell treatment for CP, Adrian received significant improvement.
The most significant improvement is his language. He learned to say more than 100 new words, including nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and he could say a few complete short sentences, such as "How are you?" and "What is this?" Also, he was now more active and vigorous.
Adrian became able to concentrate for a longer time. When he had his speech therapy, which lasts more than 30 minutes, he could focus on his studying through the whole process.
Adrian gained better balance and coordination with his physical movements. Although he could walk himself before the treatment, he was bit able to walk straighter, and his walking posture was now more natural. He walked more steadily, with a more natural posture and balance.
Adrian and his mother are looking forward to coming back for follow-up treatment. They are hopeful for more improvements with more stem cell treatment.
Back home, in Norway Adrian began to go for short walks in the forest near his home, and do some exercises (which he never did that before the stem cell therapy).
6 months after his discharge, his mother told the PIH team that Adrian's visual perception had improved, and he could watch TV without his glasses. His language was continuing to improve, and he was able to communicate much better with other people.
Adrian used to study in a special class, where his classmates were at the same level with him in terms of intelligence. But he was now prefering to study in a normal class.
Now Adrian was much more independent, and takes pride in the fact that he can instruct Beijing taxi drivers to find the hospital and his favorite markets. He could walk about in the crowded markets without getting lost, and could communicate with his mother using a mobile phone.
Adrian’s mother told us that the greatest improvement was in his visual perception, which was’ at least twenty percent better than before SCT.’ During his first hospitalization, the family needed an international coordinator to accompany them when they went to the supermarket or grocery store. During the second hospitalization the family was able to go to supermarket and grocery store themselves.
She now feels so proud of his progress!