Incredible Medical Miracle Gives Girl with Cerebral Palsy Her Movement Back

Teresa Neumann : Nov 12, 2009
Jessica Ryen Doyle - Fox News

"Her life is completely normal, she doesn't drag her right foot, she can use her right hand. She rides a bike, a scooter…we're taking her skiing this year. She's fabulous."

REPORTER'S NOTE: This story hits home because my younger brother was born with cerebral palsy. I know the shock of the discovery for the family, the years of surgeries and rehabilitation, and the incredible personal challenges facing those with CP. To think that today parents are offered the option of storing their children's umbilical cord blood cells is simply mind-boggling. To see a little girl's life completely turned around by it is cause for rejoicing. Thank you, Jesus! -Teresa Neumann

(Denver, Colorado)—Beautiful little Chloe Levine seemed completely normal until, at about the age of 9-months, her parents noticed her right hand was always fisted, and rather than crawling, she dragged herself across the floor. The Levine's were soon to discover that—having suffered a stroke in utero—Chloe had cerebral palsy.

"A part of me just died," Jenny Levine said. "At that point there was no cure for her, no treatment other than therapies—speech, physical and occupational therapy for the next 18 years. As parents, that was not fine. We wanted her to have as normal a life as possible; we didn't want her to face a life of disability."

Because the Levine's had banked stem cells from Chloe's umbilical cord at her birth, however, the impossible became real. Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, professor of pediatrics and pathology at Duke University, was reportedly conducting a study where children with cerebral palsy were injected with their own cord blood cells, and in May of last year, Chloe received a 15-minute re-infusion of her stem cells.

Within four days, the Levine's noticed positive changes. Now, says Chloe's mother, "Her life is completely normal, she doesn't drag her right foot, she can use her right hand. She rides a bike, a scooter…we're taking her skiing this year. She's fabulous."

Follow the link provided to read more about this amazing story and watch a video of a darling, energized Chloe.