Josh's Journey to Walk Again

Hi, my name is Robin and I am fundraising for one of my former track/xc athletes, Josh O'Callaghan. Josh is a healthy 23 year old male that was injured in a motorcycle accident on May 24, 2020. He has a spinal cord injury (T5/T6), which has left him paralyzed from the chest down. As a result of the accident, Josh has had to undergo a couple of surgeries including a spinal fusion and surgery for a dislocated shoulder. He has done extensive inpatient therapy (2-3 months) to regain movement in his right arm, as well as adapting to life in a wheelchair. After his release from the hospital, Josh continued therapy on an out patient basis to improve his shoulder mobility and increase his overall balance. While he is no longer in "formal" therapy, Josh has remained dedicated to improving his life and his independence. He is currently taking classes to learn how to drive again using hand controls (he picked me up and drove me to lunch a couple months ago!) Josh has also joined a gym and is doing strength and balance training daily to improve his independence and quality of life in his wheelchair. At this current point in time, there is not a lot more that Josh is able to do on his own to regain his movement in his lower body. He has done extensive research in the area of stem cell replacement/transplant and truly believes that this could help him. Unfortunately, this is very expensive and the procedure is not yet FDA approved in the United States for spinal cord injuries, therefore Josh would need to travel to Costa Rica to receive this procedure. I am attaching the website so that you are able to read about the procedure, as well as the results and impact this had had on previous patients. Josh's doctor indicated that he would most likely need 4 vials of adult mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord tissue. The cost is $29,700 for the procedure. Included in the cost is the 4 vials of stem cells over 4 days, Antioxidant Therapy, Ozone Therapy, and Platlet-Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP), as well as medical exams and consultations and a concierge service for days that Josh will be staying. Plane fare to and from Costa Rica is not included in the cost.

Josh is an amazing young man with so much life ahead of him. I love him like a son, therefore am asking for your help to give him this chance, this hope to regain some movement and the possibility of improvement and/or steps to recovery.

https://stemcellstransplantinstitute.com/