http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/205330/3/EREMY DUDA - Daily Herald
Tori Schmanski may not be aware of it, but she's about to go on a trip that could change her life.
In June 2005, a car wreck and near drowning left Tori, then 15, with brain damage. The anoxic brain injury left Tori without the ability to speak, feed herself or use the bathroom. If she leaves her bed she must be in her wheelchair and her parents feed her through a tube in her stomach.
For the past year and a half, Tim and Maria Schmanski have tried a variety of treatments for their daughter, from physical therapy to hyperbaric oxygen treatment. On Jan. 10 they will fly with Tori to Hangzhou, China, where she will spend 32 days at the Beike Clinic undergoing stem cell treatment. The family discovered the clinic through online research.
The Schmanskis know there are limits to what the treatment can accomplish. It is likely too much to ask, Tim said, for Tori to be able to walk again. But they are hoping the treatment will help restore Tori's ability to speak, to swallow, to move her limbs.
"We'd like to just have more of her back," said Tim.
The result Maria wants to see from the treatment?
"A smile," she said.
According to the National Institutes of Health, stem cells are regenerative cells that can develop into other types of cells. Studies have shown the potential of stem cells to regenerate cells such as neural and heart tissue -- which does not regenerate naturally -- and treat diseases such as diabetes and leukemia, according to the NIH Web site.
Stem cell research and treatment is one of the most divisive issues in the United States today. In July, President George Bush vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which would have provided federal funding for stem cell lines derived from discarded human embryos. In November, Missouri voters approved stem cell research, an issue that played a key role in that state's senate race. In that race, Democrat Claire McCaskill, a stem cell research supporter, defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Talent, an opponent of stem cell research.
There are two types of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells, which come from human embryos, are the ones that have fanned the flames of controversy, according to the Stem Cell Research Foundation Web site. Hematopoietic, or adult, stem cells are found in bone marrow and umbilical cord blood, and are less controversial because they do not require the destruction of an embryo.
Federal funding for stem cell research is scarce. For many Americans this is cause to vote for a specific candidate. For the Schmanskis, it is cause to fly thousands of miles. Tim and Maria must take Tori to Hangzhou because the treatment they seek for her is not available in the United States, where funding isn't widely available.
Doctors at the Beike Clinic will inject Tori with 50 million stem cells over the course of 32 days. Each dose of 10 million -- patients are given four to five days between injections -- will be injected into her upper spine, close to the brain stem, Tim said. The stem cells will be differentiated, which means that doctors have programmed them to become specific types of cells. In this case, they will become brain cells.
The Schmanskis chose to use adult stem cells instead of the embryonic variety, but the decision was medical, not ethical. Embryonic stem cells have more potential for treatment, Tim said, but carry greater risk. When embryonic stem cells are used on adults, tumors can form. Tim feels more research is needed.
Right now, Tori's abilities are limited. She can make a noise if she wants something, but she cannot tell her parents what that something is. She can swallow tiny amounts of food, but still must use the feeding tube in her stomach. Tim and Maria give her medicine to prevent seizures.
"She's 100 percent dependent on us," Tim said.
But there are signs of hope. Tim and Maria say she recognizes family and friends. They ask her questions and hold up flash cards with different answers on them. Tori can look at the card she believes is correct and nod. She even recognizes words from her three years of French classes, Maria said.
Tim and Maria study with Tori using an "I spy" book, telling Tori what objects they spy and letting her look and nod at the correct item.
"She's still a typical teenager and if she doesn't want to participate sometimes she'll just close her eyes and turn her head," Tim said. Tori is now 16 years old.
The anxious parents have been in contact with others who have undergone stem cell treatment. They are awaiting word from the parents of an Orlando, Fla.-area teenager who is also undergoing the treatment at the Beike Clinic. Much like Tori, that boy suffered brain damage after a near drowning.
"They're saying he's more alert. He has more body movement," said Tori's grandmother, Sandy.
The Schmanskis' insurance does not cover the $20,000 cost of the treatment, nor the thousands of dollars their flights, food and room and board in China will cost. Fortunately for Tim and Maria, they have raised about $50,000 from charity events and their Web site,
www.pray4tori.com. The plane tickets -- they must be business class, because Tori cannot bend her legs -- were donated, leaving the Schmanskis with about $35,000 in expenses.
If the treatment works, Tim said they would consider using it again. But if there is a next time, he hopes it will be in the United States. The Schmanskis want to see more federal funding for stem cell research, and Tim is hopeful that a Democrat-controlled Congress will be able to provide that.
"If we could spend some federal money, get some research on that front, I think it'll be more revolutionary than antibiotics in the 1900s or organ transplants," Tim said. "It is the next revolution in medical treatment."
