Lewisburg girl receives stem cell treatment in China

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 8:42 AM CDT

LEWISBURG After a whirlwind trip to China and back for stem cell treatments last month, a 3-year-old girl from Lewisburg is already showing improvements to the symptoms of a complex vision disorder.

Heather Schutt, who suffers from Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, or ONH, was able to receive an innovative form of treatment in China thanks to the many fundraisers her family organized and community members supported. Heather’s mother, Sarah Schutt, and her greatgrandmother, Nancy Erb, accompanied her to Chengyang People’s Hospital in Quingdao, China, from June 17 to July 19, where she received six IV treatments over four weeks. Heather was also scheduled to receive spinal transfusions, but was unable to undergo these once she arrived at the hospital.

They couldn’t do the spinal treatment because they couldnt sedate her with her hormone issues, explained Sarah.

In addition to ONH and a seizure disorder, Sarah said, Heather suffers from an underactive pituitary and receives replacement hormones.

But Sarah had no complaints about this unforeseen complication; in fact, she said the trip made her feel grateful that Heather has so few problems compared to those faced by other children with ONH.

A lot of the other children had more than just the eye issues and the hormone issues, she said.

Some children with ONH have trouble growing and a much smaller than the average size for their ages, while others have brain damage.

For the first time, Sarah was also able to meet families who experience the same challenges she and Heather face together. With help from on-site translators, families were able to schedule weekend bus trips to the city and get out of the hospital for a while, which Heather looked forward to tremendously.

She didnt want to sit still, Sarah said.

While the Schutts didn’t get a chance to experience much Chinese culture, they did get to explore a little bit when they had free time.

I fed Heather with chopsticks, Sarah said, laughing.

After Heather’s treatments, she received a combination of massage therapy, massage acupressure, ear point treatment and wave therapy before returning home. Sarah said the changes Heather has been exhibiting have been exciting to see.

We have seen some eye improvement,she said Lately shes been locating smaller objects at a farther distance.

While Heather used to stick her hands out and blindly feel for objects, she can now confidently grab objects with one hand. Sarah said Heathers communication skills have also improved.

The only time she would put two words together before was when she said I love you Sarah said.

Now Heather can put together short sentences, and is pronouncing words better.

It could take six months to a year for (the stem cell treatments) to take the full effect Sarah added.

Soon Heather will be enrolled in day care, and Sarah expects to see

even more improvements in her daughter.

Shell get more therapy and more one-on-one time with other