Stem cells offer Emma best chance
DOREEN Deede’s biggest wish is for her eight-year-old daughter Emma to speak.
The Edmonton girl lives with cerebral palsy, dystonia and epilepsy after suffering a stroke when she was born.
Combined, the disorders mean Emma cannot talk and is confined to a wheelchair.
But there is hope Emma will be able to learn to speak with stem cell therapy at Better Being Hospital in Bangkok.
Ms Deede said it was her “last hope of a big jump for Emma”.
“Communication would open the whole world for her,” she said.
Ms Deede said Emma lived an isolated life as other children struggled to find common ground with her.
“Her social life is non-existent,” she said.
“Other children see that she’s slow in returning a smile or a wave so they think she doesn’t want to play with them.”
But with stem cell therapy all that could change.
“For Emma, walking just won’t ever happen, but given the research that’s been done we can hope that she will be able to learn to communicate,” she said.
The success seen in fellow Cairns resident and stem cell therapy recipient Flynn Rigby helped her hold onto hope.
Flynn first received stem cell therapy when he was nine and now at 15 he is able to speak using full sentences.
“We’re in the process of fundraising to get both Flynn and Emma over to Bangkok,” Ms Deede said.
Ms Deede and the Rigby family will host a fundraiser for the medical trip at The Jack hotel on Sunday, May 6, from 2.30pm.
Entry is free with donations towards both family’s journeys overseas encouraged.
For more information, visit Emma’s Quest on Facebook.