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Six-year-old's family hopes stem cells are the answer

Lilly's dad is raising money to send his little girl to the U.S. for treatment

The family of a six-year-old girl in Elliot Lake is raising money to send her to the United States for what they hope will be a life-changing stem cell treatment.

Defined as a medical procedure used to replace damaged or diseased stem cells with healthy stem cells, Lilly Lecuyer's family says she needs the treatment to help her battle spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. This disease is defined as the loss of the use of the whole body and is the most severe of the three types of spastic cerebral palsy, marked by the inability to use the legs, arms and body.

Adrian Lecuyer, her father, said Canada doesn’t offer this treatment and therefore, they would need to travel to the United States to help his daughter’s quality of life.

The stem cell transplant process works by injecting the body with stem cells to stimulate the growth of healthy bone marrow. It is hoped the treatment would allow Lilly’s body to make new cells to help her quality of life, says her father.

Due to the expensive nature of the treatment and the costs associated with travel, Lecuyer is reaching out to the community for help.

Lilly, a Central Avenue Public School SK/Grade 1 student, is currently undergoing physical therapy, occupational therapy and botox. She also visits with her pediatrician on a regular basis.

Lecuyer said each stem cell treatment will cost $11,000 with the hope of performing one treatment per year, starting this year. He believes it will improve Lilly's life.

"It will change her whole world," he said. "It will repair damage to her brain, it will reduce her spastisity, improve her hand-eye coordination, improve her speech and maybe even help her take her first un-aided steps. It will make everyday life easier for her and make lots of gains."

Lecuyer is accepting donations via paypal.me/lillycp



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