Grace was a happy, healthy little girl – until complications during oral surgery at two years old caused a major brain injury. She was diagnosed with hypertonic cerebral palsy, which left her weak and barely able to move.
Fortunately, Grace’s cord blood was stored at birth, so she was able to receive life-changing cord blood treatment at Duke University in the States.
Since 5 year old Grace was reinfused with her own cord blood, her mother Olivia has noticed huge improvements, saying;
“She’s already gotten so much strength. She’s dancing. She’s walking forward, backwards, sideways, in circles. That’s the most beautiful thing, to see her light up.”
Grace continues to get better every day – she is able to hold a pencil, and her mother has watched her write her name for the first time. These amazing changes would not have been possible had she not had her cord blood banked at birth.
Watch Grace’s inspiring story here.
In 2010, New Zealander Emily Sanson-Rejouis and her husband Emmanuel were in Haiti working for the UN peace-keeping mission when they faced incomprehensible tragedy. A massive earthquake claimed the lives of over 300,000 people including Emily’s husband and two of their three young daughters, Kofie-Jade (5yrs) and Zenzie (3yrs).
Thankfully little Alyahna (who was only one year old at the time) was rescued after 22 hours under rubble – injured but still alive. After the earthquake, Emily and Alyahna returned to Nelson to rebuild their lives.
The family have found happiness again and last month Alyahna became the proud older sister of little Oscar – as Emily and her partner Hugh welcome a new baby boy into the world. Alyahna’s delight is clear to see as she holds her new baby brother in her arms.
Emily says of cord blood banking: “I have always felt strongly that cord blood banking can provide potentially life changing opportunities to our children should they have a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition or disability.“
Hugh, Emily and Alyahna
So just like Alyahna, Oscar had his cord blood collected and stored at CordBank for the future.
A year after tragically losing their two-year-old triplets in a fire in a Doha mall, local family Martin and Jane Weekes welcomed their new babies into the world. Born on July 30, the twins were a very special addition to the family and their arrival was celebrated by us all.
Poppy and Parker
Proud father Martin described their delivery as a “relief “.
“We’re so pleased that they’ve been born healthy and safely because it’s always a worry. I guess probably more so for us because of having lost Lillie, Jackson and Willsher.”
Just as they did for the triplets, Martin and Jane have banked Poppy and Parkers cord blood as a safeguard for their future.
“The life of every child is priceless, and as parents we all want to do the utmost for our children. When they are born the last thing on our minds is that they won’t be with us forever.
When we were pregnant with our triplets Lillie, Jackson & Willsher we decided to bank their cord blood in case they ever developed an illness that could be treated with their own stem cells. The true value of our cord blood is only just becoming understood, and everyday medicine is learning new things about its potential. However we only have one chance to secure it for our children’s future. Sadly we tragically lost Lillie, Jackson and Willsher when they were just 2 years old.
When we became pregnant with our twins Poppy & Parker we both had no doubts that again we would bank their cord blood. No parent should ever face the pain of losing a child and now more than ever we would do anything to have them with us for the rest if our lives and many years beyond.
Like any insurance policy we hope they never need it, but if one day they do we’d hate to have missed making this valuable investment in their lives.
We also hope that Lillie, Jackson and Willsher’s cord blood can be used to help someone else in the future. Whether that be one of their brothers or sisters, or be donated to another seriously sick child it would be so incredibly special for that to be their legacy.”