Cells For Noah

Noah is a 10-year-old boy who is very special to his family. He was born in Calgary, Alberta and welcomed into his loving family by his Father, Alan, his Mother, Suzee, and his sister, Tara (He also now has a 2-year-old brother, Adam).

Noah hit all his first-year milestones, and autism was never a question in the family’s mind. Once the Lapps relocated to Ontario to be closer to family, Noah showed signs of regression from his milestones at about 16 months old. Noah stopped responding to his name, lost all the words he learned, Noah stopped making eye contact and began becoming aggravated and frustrated at things that used to feel normal to him. At this point, a family member suggested that Noah might be on the autism spectrum. Immediately, his parents took charge and had a diagnosis for their son at two years old.

Unfortunately, the Lapps did not know anybody who had ever been autistic and did not know what difficulties lay ahead. Despite this, they took action immediately and got Noah on waiting lists from local community programs in their area. The waiting lists were dreadfully long, and while the family patiently waited to have therapies to help Noah, they did ample research. With the help of family and lots of research, they took matters into their own hands. They began doing some therapies themselves until, after three long years of waiting, they were approved for some funding to get outside, specialized help.

Noah was able to start therapy at the age of 5, which was very tough on him and the family, but it eventually became routine. Although the therapy was challenging, it was not short of being effective in helping him reduce some of his frustrations.

The family felt blessed to have such a fantastic team to aid their son and family. As therapy resumed in the first few months, it became clear that Noah was on the severe end of the spectrum. He was diagnosed as non-verbal, with sensory processing disorders and ADHD and was still in diapers. Due to his severity level, he had therapy five days a week for 4 hours daily. To give an example of the severity, it took his therapist approximately six months to get Noah to sit in a chair and look at her.

The Lapps struggled to balance caring for their daughter, who is just 16 months older than Noah, working busy jobs, battles with schools, camps and daycares to provide the one-on-one assistance that Noah needed while also trying to find other supplementary aids and therapies to make life easier for him has resulted in absolute exhaustion and burnout. The Lapps have always persevered by ensuring that Noah's sister did not feel neglected; consequently, life did not seem to give them a break.

Unfortunately, there is a limit to funding on where we can get help for all of Noah costs. The Lapps spend thousands (yes, thousands) per month on things like diapers, bedding, laundry supplies, shoes (cause Noah also doesn’t walk properly) and other costs.

To this day, Noah requires one-on-one assistance everywhere he goes. He needs the same therapy as he did five years ago and is continuing to get it, which will likely be drastically cut back as of Spring 2023 as the government funding will be reduced for him. Noah continues to wear diapers; he does not speak and requires assistance in all aspects of his life, including eating.

Looking at the Lapp family, you would never know the trials and tribulations they have been through, as they are the most giving and loving family you would ever encounter. They are always gracing you with smiles and laughter and have an incredible outlook on life. Their biggest priority is their children, family members, friends and community. The term “If you think our hands are full, you should see our hearts” was coined after this family. In addition to their struggles, they have been able to volunteer time, make donations and help their community in multiple ways over the years. Now they are looking to their family, friends and community to help them where it can count the most.

What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are the body’s raw materials- cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. Under the right conditions in the body or laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells. These daughter cells become either new stem cells or specialized cells with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells or bone cells. No other cell in the body has the natural ability to generate new cells.

We ask you, family, friends, acquaintances, and kind strangers to please help a boy in need and his family. In the last ten years, stem cell therapy has been up and coming as a solution to many issues related to autism spectrum disorder. The Lapps have personally spoken to multiple families who have had great success with the treatments and cannot wait to have it done for Noah!

Our Goal

Stem cell therapy will help Noah gain independence in the bathroom, possibly giving him a voice or an opportunity to communicate his wants and needs clearly. In short, it will make life a lot easier on him from what it has been over the last ten years. It would also make life easier for the family and Noah's two other siblings. They have also lived through their brother's struggle for years. They have sacrificed many of their wants and needs due to his disabilities and inability to participate in events and other activities that families generally do together.

The problem with stem cell therapy is that it is costly. After speaking to the only doctor in Canada who does stem cell therapy, Noah is a prime candidate. However, each treatment here is a whopping $78 000. It is recommended that he will likely need three treatments over 1.5 years. If you do the math, you can see that our own house being sold would barely cover the cost!

There is an alternative!! These therapies are MUCH less expensive in other countries running at about $15 000 per therapy, not including travel costs. Over months and months of research, we have found a clinic we are very comfortable with that has excellent medical practices and has been treating children with autism for years with an extremely high success rate.

Please help us raise $60 000 dollars for Noah and our family. If you cannot make a monetary donation, please spread the word to your contact that might be able to help.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

We are desperate to help our friends and their fantastic son!