I wanted to make sure to include Drew's latest MRI interpretation on this website.  It is our understanding that Drew had a grade III IVH in April 2007 and there has been no further damage.  We were told from the getgo that "only the motor sections of his brain would be affected."  We didn't know to what degree until he wasn't reaching certain developmental milestones later on.  However, their assessment was correct, Drew is very cognitively aware.  He's one lucky duck.

Drew has a couple of different diagnoses that i've seen in the past 18 months.  We've seen "cerebral palsy" and "globally delayed" on separate forms in his medical records.  He continues to be delayed in the gross motor, fine motor, and speech categories.  

**WARNING - TEAR JERKER**

Our son Drew is one tough cookie, and boy has he been through the ringer.  His first few months were incredibly intense, but fortunately he's been as healthy as a horse ever since.  Most of his medical issues have resolved, but we still have a few occasional specialist appointments that we go to.  I wanted to make sure to include his birth history and diagnosis on this website, so that readers can compare/contrast different therapies, equipment, etc.

Drew was born 15 weeks early, clocking in at 710 grams or 1 lb 9 oz.  In his birth history it is stated that "mother went into preterm labor for unknown reasons."  The big speculation is that I probably have an incompetent cervix.  In my opinion, whoever came up with this title (probably a man) needs to spend some time with a woman in labor to see her opinion on this matter.  I firmly believe every cervix deserves flowers and chocolates for all of its hard work.

Anyways, Drew was born at 25 weeks 3 days and spent a total of 97 days in the NICU.  He was intubated and on a ventilator for approximately 6 weeks all together.  He had an ultrasound of his brain after 3 days to see if there had been a hemorrhage and he did not.  We were estatic.  We were told that they would do another routine ultrasound of his brain in 30 days, but there was a very small chance that he would have a cerebral hemorrhage.

To give you more information, Drew was born with a patent ductus arteriosus [PDA], and it didn't close with several rounds of Indomethacin.  A PDA is an opening between the aorta and the pulmonary artery which is essential in utero but usually closes up shortly after birth.  Anyways, after a couple weeks we didn't have an option.  He had to undergo a PDA ligation right in the NICU in order to live.  He did very well.  However, his next head ultrasound did not have promising results.  The doctors later speculated with me that he might have had the bleed due to the stress of the PDA ligation.  They told me he had a grade IV cerebral hemorrhage [IVH] but later ultrasounds proved that he had a grade III.  I remember a few of the doctors showing recent research they conducted on neonates with grade III hemorrhages and it looked very promising.  If I remember correctly 84% of the infants ended up with either no signs of cerebral palsy [CP] or mild CP.  According to our current neurologist, Drew is between the moderate and severe categories.  We've had current MRI's, and there was no evidence of a further hemorrhage since the first one.  What we've learned from all of this is that you have to go with the flow but fight like hell against all of the currents.

As far as Drew's other medical complications, most of them have resolved.  He had hydronephrosis which can be defined as an accummulation of urine in the kidneys due to a possible obstruction in the ureters.  He had retinopathy of prematurity which is the disorganized growth of blood vessels within the retina.  It is possible to actually have the retinas detach in severe cases and of course Drew's eyes were on the cusp of needing laser eye surgery to prevent this.  I remember hauling him to the opthamalogist twice a week along with his oxygen tanks and heart monitor.  Then we'd have to sit and wait while his eyes dilated for at least 45 minutes.  Lucky for us, this issue resolved, and we refer to our little whipper snapper as "hawk eye."  He doesn't miss a thing.

Drew also contracted ORSA while he was in the NICU, which meant he was in isolation.  ORSA is basically a type of bacteria that is responsible for difficult-to-treat infections. Drew also had acid reflux, which many preemies also have.  He also had elevated billirubin levels and was quite often placed under the "billi lights."   Drew also had bilateral inguinal hernias, which he had surgically corrected a couple weeks after he was dicharged from the NICU.

We did have a few scary moments while in the NICU.  We recieved "the call" early one morning.  He never officially flatlined, we were told he did have vitals, however, they did have to resuscitate him.  There was a couple of other times that his oxygen saturation was really poor, and he was swarmed by the residents/respiratory therapists while we were there.  I'd like to refer to this time period as "The Dark Ages" of the Ricci family.  They're over and done with.

When Drew was discharged, he was still on oxygen and was receiving 50% of his formula through an NG tube.  After a few days of Drew pulling out his feeding tube, I decided to get rid of it all together.  We had to feed him around the clock every three hours, and I remember it would take him 45 minutes to drink 47 mls.  He also was on oxygen, I believe 1/16 to 1/8 of a liter, until he was 6 months old.  When discharged Drew started off with 8 different medications that had to be given at different times.  I could write on and on about his birth history.  I'm sure several of you have had similar experiences.  If anyone has any questions or just wants to chat, I'd be happy to oblige.  I have saved all of Drew's paperwork (which is substantial!!) so I can refer back to any specific information.  I will be sure to write a separate blog of Drew's MRI results and another blog on his current abilities.

My husband and I were researching stem cell treatments around the world about a year ago.  We read about several achievements a variety of people had experienced post stem cell treatment and were intrigued.  We found facilities in China, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican, South Africa, Russia, and China.  I'm sure there's a lot more by now.  Mike and I were most impressed with Beike Biotech's facilities in China.  They provided us with a lot of information and had excellent customer service.  Overall, we just felt like we were in good hands.  If you're interested, you should check out their website  www.stemcellschina.com

Drew recieved a total of 6 stem cell transfusions over a period of 34 days.  Two of the treatments were transfused via IV and the remaining four were via lumbar punctures.  The first transfusion was intravenously to make sure there was not an adverse reaction just like any typical blood transfusion.  The lumbar punctures were much more involved and to be honest nerve-wracking at first.  Every patient whether adult or child is given Diazepam (Valium) via IV beforehand and of course lidocaine at the site of injection before the stem cells are administered.  We recieved very positive feedback from all of the adults that went through the process and no one felt any pain or discomfort.  The biggest draw back that we experienced with the lumbar punctures was having to make sure Drew layed flat for 4 to 6 hours afterwards to prevent a spinal headache.  Least to say, Drew was not thrilled!

Drew's stem cells were derived from umbilical cord blood donated from full-term babies. The stem cells were derived from a donor that wasn't related to our son and there are no known cases of rejection.  Each of the 6 stem cell injections had approximately 15 million stem cells.  I've read there are 180 subsets of stem cells and a targeted few may help regenerate neural growth in damaged areas of the brain.  One specific subset called, Mesenchymals also helps build muscle tissue, which often can be under or overdeveloped with individuals with cerebral palsy.  There is so much information provided by their website, I highly recommend everyone checks it out.  There's also a support group on yahoo.com titled BIA4KIDS that has a ton of information.  It's guaranteed to keep you up all night reading.

Beike advertises about 70-80% of their patients noted overall improvements from the stem cell treatments.  As for Drew, it's been about 4 1/2 months since his last treatment.  The majority of his improvements should be between 3 to 6 months post treatment according to the doctors we talked with.  My husband and I feel we have witnessed enough improvements to warrant returning to China for a second round of SCTs (Stem Cell Treatments).  We're pretty sure we'll be returning March 31st to May 10th of this year.  I'm going to write separate blogs on Drew's improvements   (of course!) and of our experiences in Hangzhou, China.  I won't leave everyone hanging, I promise!  To read about our past experiences, check out our blog from last summer.  www.stemcellschina.com/blog/drewri.  To read about our next trip back to China (March 31, 2009 - May 11, 2009) go to the blog section on this site.