Dallas' Story

"Dallas' cord blood was his only hope."
— Cynthia Hextell, mother of Dallas who received a cord blood treatment for cerebral palsy

The Hextells will never forget the day their son Dallas was diagnosed with a type of brain injury known as cerebral palsy. It was devastating. Dallas couldn't sit up or make eye contact and just screamed a lot. They knew something was wrong, but the diagnosis was shocking.

Fortunately, the Hextells had saved Dallas' cord blood stem cells with Cord Blood Registry (CBR). They didn't think that they would ever need them, but this "just-in-case" decision turned everything around for their son. Doctors infused Dallas' own stem cells into his body when he was 18 months old.

The Hextells didn't know what to expect, but they didn't have to wait long. Dallas' therapist, Polly Harlan, noticed changes soon after the infusion: "He started accepting stimuli, making eye contact, and responding to therapy. It was like a fog had been lifted, and suddenly all the stimuli became interesting rather than just overwhelming."

Soon Dallas spoke his first word: "mama." Then he began achieving milestones that the Hextells thought were impossible: walking, waving, and laughing. He became a totally different boy. To Cynthia, it's a miracle. "The results were so dramatic that we feel like these precious stem cells have given Dallas a chance to enjoy a happy, healthy life."

Doctors are working to determine what impact the stem cell treatments are having on patients like Dallas. According to Dr. David T. Harris, Professor of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, "Cord blood stem cells bring new hope to children with brain injury as new findings indicate that cord blood stem cells have the potential to induce healing of the brain."

The Hextells are so thankful that they saved Dallas' cord blood as it gives them hope for his future. They recognize that Dallas was only able to receive the stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy because he had access to his own cord blood stem cells. Stem cells from anyone else would not have been an option.

Now they are on a mission to get the word out to other expectant parents—that it is so important to save your baby's cord blood because you never know when you might need it. And they highly recommend banking with CBR. "When we needed them, CBR made everything so easy for us that we could focus on being there for Dallas," said Cynthia.