–CONVERSATION WITH DAD–
On April 8 of this year, we had the honor of receiving the handsome Emmet for his third treatment of Stem Cells with Dr. Consuelo-Mancias. This is the first time that we, HOST, have provided him and his dad with the transportation and lodging services provided for his comfort and tranquility.
We had the opportunity to talk with his dad, who was very satisfied and grateful for the attentions. This time he was able to focus on what is important: his son, Emmet. This is what he said about it: After Emmet’s initial incident the doctors advised us to get what’s called a g-tube which means he wouldn’t eat orally through his mouth and he would eat through his stomach, they said he would never eat any real food and we fought the doctors pretty hard on this. We didn’t want to set that precedent in a young baby because once you go there then he will never learn how to eat.
So, we struggle a lot with feeding him, constantly putting thickeners in his milk, all mushy foods and things like that. After the first stem cell treatment his appetite exploded… it was really the biggest difference in anything we saw on him, it was his ability to eat more food, more volume, and more solid food as opposed to apple sauce and mushy food. That was the biggest difference we saw after the first one. It was also the biggest improvement we saw after the second stem cell treatment, just on a larger scale. So, at that point we were happy because we knew we would not need the g-tube anymore. In fact, the doctor who was recommending it apologized and said, “you were right, he doesn’t need a g-tube he’s clearly eating”; and his appetite again exploded after the second one. Also, after the second one, we saw a lot more improvement in his motor skills. In the parts were hi had low tone muscles we saw him making improvements. He still has a long way to go, I don’t want to make it sound like he was doing hard wheels but compared to what he was doing before it really helped a lot of his motor function.
Before the treatments he wasn’t even crawling or what they call reciprocating motion, he wasn’t doing that and now he is. A lot of this has to do with the combination of the stem cell and the occupational therapy.
About Consuelo Mancias-Guerra M.D.
She’s amazing, she’s so patient and sweet, I love that about Dr. Consuelo. We were very reticent to do this int the first place and she allayed a lot of our fears. I mean, we did our research and talked to doctors that we know and trust, we read her papers, and thought on other options. But the way she explains things made us feel comfortable with the process, the way she cares about us and Emmet, our son, really makes a difference… She’s brilliant.
About HOST’s services
It’s remarkable, the first time we came none of this was set up, so we had to do it all on our own. We had to transport Emmet without a baby seat, and, in the transportation, there wasn’t enough room for the luggage or the stroller. And the hotel was nice, but it just didn’t have what we needed and wasn’t equipped to attend those needs for a whole week, specially after the procedure.
So to have a driver, who picked us up and take us to the supermarket, was great, the van with the baby seat and enough space, and the apartment was exactly what we needed… you can have a little bit of normalcy, you can food shop, you can cook when you need to and make the meals that your kid is used to eating as opposed to getting takeout food every night. You never know what you’re going to get, I mean this is my fault because I don’t speak Spanish but when you order like five different thing and you hope one of those is what you are expecting, whereas now I’m making all the thing that he eat when we are at home. And the comfort of the place make you feel way more comfortable.
