Shael Kapoor’s story revolves not around his illness but recounts his story. Like every person, he too has a name, a personality but the most commendable thing of him was to stay put through his entire battle. When kids of his age were at play, Shael was confined indoors as his physical disabilities limited his movements. He was all of three years when his mother observed that he was finding it extremely difficult to watch his steps. When his frequent falls started becoming a matter of concern, his parents decided to take the matter into their hands. Subsequently, they learnt their son had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Poor Shael was kept under a heavy dose of medication and rehabilitation. Much to their dismay, not much of improvement was seen on him as they duly expected.
With time, his condition deteriorated and his Duchenne progressed. By the time he was seven years, he found it difficult to climb the stairs. After seeing his plight, his parents though they had seen enough depravity. They decided to opt for a different treatment option to give their son a new chance at life. Soon after, they learnt about stem cell therapy for muscular dystrophy. Tracing down NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute was not much of a problem after that.
Patient’s Life after treatment at NeuroGen
The doctors examined Shael’s reports and they detected that his lower extremity muscles were weak and found it tough to perform his head activities and bed mobility. On further examination, they found that he could neither stand nor walk. So he finally underwent stem cell therapy together with extensive rehabilitation program that consisted of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and psychological counseling. He underwent stem cell therapy for a second time after his parents noticed the tremendous change in him.
After his first stem therapy, his reports showed that his stamina has been greatly restored; his knee muscles became much flexible, his hand and leg movements improved, he was able to touch the floor with his heels and the contractures of his knee and hips had lessened apart from other improvements. Overjoyed seeing his improvements, his parents though that they give stem cell therapy another go. After his second stem cell therapy, his handwriting got better along with speed, his diet and immune system greatly improved, his habit of sticking out his tongue with his mouth wide open lessened, he could kick with his bilateral knees, weight had decreased and even his hair and nail growth improved.
His speech therapist was also overwhelmed to see his vast improvements. According to his reports given, his stuttering had reduced by 70%-80%, he had more confidence in reading out aloud, he started talking with strangers and stammered less, the flexibility round his tongue improved as well his tongue rolling.
That was not all; his therapist also shared his improvement reports. His body posture and his sitting balance improved, he could change movements faster, his writing speed improved and he could write about two to three pages on length. Earlier he used to have breathlessness issues while walking but after the therapy, that issue has been taken care of. Shael even joined an English speaking course and MCIT. Just like any other normal kid, he became acquainted with the laptop and started playing games.
How did it impact the lives of those around him?
His parents were overjoyed seeing Shael’s condition. It was like a dream for them to watch their son living a normal steady life. Shael’s entire family along with his relatives is celebrating their happiness each day. Shael’s mother says that he even took an active part in the Gauri Ganpati Puja. They are looking forward to the results of his tenth exams and are hopeful that he will do exceedingly well for himself. Looking at his story, everyone feels that Shael will go a long way in life. We cannot agree more.
