Some tales stay with us for long. The pain of those involved touches our heart so much that we cannot forget even if we try! Such is the story of Abhinav Kumar’s and his fight with Muscular Dystrophy for 23 long years. He made up his mind to help children suffering from a similar condition so they can lead a normal childhood unlike his.
Abhinav Kumar was born to two loving parents who took immense pride to have him in their lives. They were overjoyed after his birth and provided him with all the love and care. Everything was going smooth until Abhinav turned three and a half years. His father was quick to notice his inability to sit on the floor and his constant habit of falling down while running. Initially, his parents thought he will slowly pick up things but that did not happen. They took him for a routine check up where the doctor recommended a muscle biopsy. The result was nothing like they had expected. Their little Abhinav was detected with DMD, the most debilitating type of muscular dystrophy.
Things looked hazy for Abhinav’s parents as he was put on a heavy dose of medication. To improve his condition, his parents sent him for homeopathy and ayurvedic medications but all in vain. His battle continued from here and grew worse the time when he was 14 years. One day, he was on bed, resting as usual. He complained of breathlessness. Quickly he was rushed to the hospital and kept on a ventilator after being detected with respiratory distress and was on a tracheotomy. Now, his parents were forced to accept the truth of his condition.
Abhinav’s Life after Stem Cell Therapy at NeuroGen
It was in the year 2012 that Abhinav Kumar’s father decided to take things on his own hands. He found information on stem cell therapy and approached NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute. The doctors discovered that Abhinav had extreme muscle weakness and wasting on closer examination. He had to undergo stem cell therapy together with rehabilitation program under a closed supervision of the experts. The doctors recommended that Abhinav should be sent for physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological studies so that his vital capacities get improved. Along with that, he was recommended to go for passive and breathing exercises to bring improvement to his hand movements and other bilateral functions. Major improvements were seen on him even though he was still on ventilator after the therapy.
Abhinav went for two stem cell therapies after seeing the rapid improvements after first stem cell therapy. Some of the improvements seen in Abhinav after the first stem cell therapy were his tube was removed, he could move his finger, toes and legs, his face looked more radiant and lively, he looked confident and he could use his right-hand fingers to operate the computer. On September 2013, he underwent a second stem cell therapy. After the therapy, his parents could not contain their happiness to witness that his stamina and ability to swallow had improved, his speech was more concise and clear and he made attempts to talk a lot more. Most importantly, he became a more confident person than he ever was.
How Has It Impacted the Lives of Those around Him?
His father stated that life came to a standstill when they first heard about Abhinav’s condition. He really was determined to give Abhinav the life that he so deserved. The greatest lesson that his parents learnt from Abhinav from the whole ordeal was learning life values. They never took Abhinav as a burden but instead took him as God’s blessing. Today, the family looks back at their journey with pride, hope and new motivation. Abhinav is still in bed but he now animates in bed and his father has started a parents association for parents with kids suffering from similar ailments.
