Darina, born at just 28 weeks, the patient entered the world via emergency caesarean section. During her perilous journey into life, a cord wrapped tightly around her neck, cutting off oxygen and causing ischemia and hypoxia. These early traumas unfortunately led to a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. But here's the silver lining: there's no hereditary disease casting a shadow over her future, and she managed to avoid the common struggle of jaundice. Despite the odds stacked against her, Darina’s story is one of hope, resilience, and the potential for remarkable progress.
• The fine-motor skills of both hands are underdeveloped. Simple tasks like grasping small objects or buttoning clothes are challenging, showing a lack of dexterity and precision.
• She is able to sit independently, yet her waist muscles are weak. This weakness causes her to slouch or have difficulty maintaining an upright posture for extended periods while sitting.
• Standing on her own is currently beyond her capabilities. However, with the support of another person, she can stand. But her feet habitually land on the tiptoes, and as she tries to move, a scissors-like gait pattern emerges, where one leg crosses in front of the other in an unsteady and restricted movement.
• The muscle tension in both legs is notably high, while the muscle strength is disappointingly low. Even when compared to what would be considered normal muscle tension for her age and physical condition, hers seems to be on the verge of being overly relaxed, which further contributes to her unsteady movements.
• She has strabismus, with her eyes not aligning properly, causing a squint-eyed appearance that can sometimes affect her depth perception and visual focus.
• The fine - motor skills of both hands have witnessed remarkable improvement. She can now perform intricate tasks such as tying shoelaces or using chopsticks with much greater ease and precision, which was unthinkable in the past.
• Her waist strength has been significantly augmented. When sitting, she can maintain a straight and stable posture for extended periods, demonstrating a newfound ability to support her upper body firmly.
• A remarkable milestone has been achieved as she is now able to stand independently for half a minute. What's more, her heels can finally touch the ground, and the once - prominent scissors step has been greatly alleviated. Her gait is becoming more natural and stable, showing signs of better balance and coordination.
• The muscle tension in both legs has decreased substantially compared to before, while the muscle strength has been notably enhanced. She can now lift her legs more easily and perform simple leg - strengthening exercises with greater confidence.
• Her strabismus has improved remarkably. Her eyes are now much more aligned, and the squint that once affected her vision and appearance has become far less noticeable, enabling her to see the world more clearly and interact more comfortably with her surroundings.
Given the significant progress made so far, the future looks bright. With continued rehabilitation, her fine-motor skills are likely to reach near-normal levels, allowing her to handle complex daily tasks independently. The strengthened waist will further support her in activities like standing and walking for longer durations.
In the coming months, she may be able to stand for several minutes and even start walking short distances unassisted. As the muscle tension in her legs continues to reduce and strength builds, her gait will become more stable and natural, eliminating the remaining signs of the scissors step.
Regarding her vision, continued improvement in the squint can be expected, enhancing her visual perception and overall quality of life. With consistent effort and support, she has the potential to lead a more independent and fulfilling life, participating fully in social and physical activities.
More detailed stories about Darina’s treatment (click here)
Deep Love Between Sister and Brother
Darina, the first child of her parents, she was a very cute girl. She loved laughing and smiling to others. Now she always has a dream---walking independently. When she was one and a half years old, her parents took her to consult a local doctor because she couldn't walk like other children. After the consultation, they got a terrible diagnosis with congenital cerebral palsy, which means Darina may never walk. Although she insisted on doing 2 hours rehabilitation training every day, hoping to regain the power of walking, while each time attempt ended with a failure. Fortunately, parents did not give up. They encouraged them and did everything together.
When Darina was three years old, her parents had a son named Artem. The fate made another joke in this family. After birth, Artem all kinds of development were backward. Russian doctors said that if two children got effective treatment as soon as possible, they still had hope for improvement. Since then, Darina's parents started the way to search hospitals and doctors from domestic to foreign. When they learned that a military hospital in China Beijing could use stem cells to treat cerebral palsy, which would improve the damaged central nervous system. After consultation with expert for Darina and Artem conditions, the hospital agreed to receive Darina and Artem for the treatment. Darina's family believed that this was an opportunity that can help two babies. For the children's future, no matter how much they pay, they were willing to do what they could do.
In April 2014, Darina and Artem followed their parents, crossed the blue sky, and finally came to China for stem cell treatment. At the time of admission, Darina can sit, but can't sit alone for a long time. Because her leg muscles were too weak to walk. it was also strabismus when confronted people. Artem was more serious than Darina, his head was unstable; double legs muscle tension was really high; muscle strength was poor. Dr. Cheng combined with their examination and clinical manifestations and finally decided to perform four times lumbar punctures. Both of them got improvements after treatment. Before discharge, Darina's strabismus symptom was obviously improved. Her waist muscles were stronger to sit longer. It was easier to see her charming smile on her cute face. Artem muscle tension was significantly reduced and muscle strength was enhanced. Parents were very happy to see the changes. The hospital staff arranged a very warm birthday celebration party for Darina which moved this happy family.
After returning home, Darina's parents sent a beautiful gift from their hometown and attached a simple and sincere thank you letter to express their inner gratitude to the hospital and doctors.
