Benjamin Lockwood Fundraiser for Stem Cell Therapy
Donazione protetta
Who: Benjamin Lockwood, age 30, Ft. Worth, Texas
Benjamin has a unique journey. Benjamin is deaf but unlike most deaf individuals, Benjamin is not deaf because of heredity or a childhood disease. He has perfectly developed inner ear anatomy and no cognitive, physical or learning disability or defects. He is very intelligent and in great shape physically. He is simply a hearing person who cannot hear.
Benjamin’s mother was active duty military during the early months of his gestation. During this time, she experienced severe allergic reactions to chemicals used in the dental laboratory in which she worked. There was also inadequate ventilation. These things prenatally, combined with a traumatic birth, left Benjamin with a severe hearing deficit from birth, most likely an injury to the auditory nerve.
Benjamin has never heard the voices of those who love him, or the sounds of animals, traffic, tones of appliances or machines, the wind or rain on the roof top, etc. You know…all those things we as hearing people take for granted. He hasn’t learned speech because he has never heard speech. What he has done is built strength of character and a will to accomplish the things he sets his mind to. These things have benefited him in many ways. He excels in the workplace, is a dependable, great, strong worker, skilled welder, accomplished wrestler and all round great person. His quiet demeanor, kindness and quick wit draw others to him, young and old. He is adored by his dog, Biscuit, and all his nieces and nephews.
What: We are raising $10,000 to cover the first Stem Cell procedure, audiology appointments and possibly a second procedure in one year or speech therapy, depending on which one he needs first. We are working with Dr. Bill Johnson at Innovations Stem Cell Center in Dallas, Texas. This is the plan Dr. Johnson is recommending for now, however, we will give updates if and/or when his needs change.
How: The first appointment will go as follows…first the doctor will numb an area about the size of a quarter then harvest 3 ounces of fat. This fat will be put into a machine that will separate the stem cells. This process takes about two hours. At that point an IV will be placed into Benjamin’s vein and a shot will be given to him which will cause his body to allow the cells to pass the blood -brain barrier. This one shot will be the only medication used. There will be about a 10-15 minute wait for the shot to take affect then the stem cells will be added to the IV. Once the IV is complete, the waiting begins.
Why: Benjamin an anomaly. He always has been. From the beginning, doctors have not known what to do for Benjamin. This is a unique case. As far as the science, there’s very little data on work being done with stem cell therapy and auditory issues. However, with what is known, Benjamin is a perfect candidate. We want Benjamin to know we are doing all we can, leaving nothing on the table that might be of benefit to him.
Because there is no other case like Benjamin’s, of course there can be no promises of the outcome. Benjamin’s deafness is the result of an injury so as long as Ben’s body is giving out the information needed, in other words, his cells are still sending out pain messengers called “growth factors”, (cells that say here is the injury, come help us) stem cells will be attracted to them. When the stem cells get there, the growth factors tell the stem cells what to do to fix it. There’s no test that will show if this tract is still physically intact. We don’t know. At this point, our only option is to try. Worst case scenario, there is no change in Ben’s hearing. Best case scenario, Ben’s hearing begins lightly and strengthens until he has full range of hearing. Or, the third option, hearing somewhere along the spectrum.
If this is a mylan response the repair tends to be fairly quick. We could start to see some improvement that would be gradual within a few weeks. The other possibility is it’s the actual nerve fibers. What is heard in the right ear is processed in the left side of the brain and vice versa. So there is about 6-8 inches of distance on each side. The reason that’s important is in a perfect situation, a nerve can heal about a centimeter a month. 8 inches is approximately 15 – 20 centimeters. So if we have a perfect response then we’ve got about 20 months before you would expect to see a response. We can easily go months with no response only to realize later there is improvement as that nerve begins to finally grow. The reality is we just don’t have any history of what to expect. Then, as you can imagine, there may be years of therapy as Benjamin will begin the task of understanding language. There are realities as to how this will unfold.
We know this is a journey. Benjamin is excited. He only had one question when we talked to him about this… “Did that Dr. say I have to change my eating habits?” All who know him knows how funny that is!!!!!!! When we told him no, it has nothing to do with his diet, he immediately and without hesitation said, “I’m all in! Let’s do this!!!”
How: We invite you to be part of Benjamin’s journey. Are you all in to help us do this? Let’s rally around this great young man and see where the journey goes!!! Whether you can donate $5 or $5,000, we want everyone to be a part of this great experience. The more people, the stronger the bond. And the more we unite, the better the outcome.
When: The first appointment will be made as soon as we reach $7500. The appointment will be about two weeks out from that phone call.
We thank you for reading and sharing.
How you can help:
1. Please know this is about more than just raising the money. We ask you to keep Benjamin in your prayers for peace and wisdom for all of us, especially Dr. Johnson and his staff. We would love for as many people as possible to rally around Benjamin and show him how much he is loved.
2. Please ponder on ways you can help us share Benjamin's story. Feel free to write your own feelings about this, how you know Benjamin and our family and share, share, share. Let’s gather an army for Benjamin!
3. If you can and want to donate, please do. We appreciate your generosity.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. We are grateful for each and every act of kindness shown to us. We feel your love. Thank you.
Benjamin has a unique journey. Benjamin is deaf but unlike most deaf individuals, Benjamin is not deaf because of heredity or a childhood disease. He has perfectly developed inner ear anatomy and no cognitive, physical or learning disability or defects. He is very intelligent and in great shape physically. He is simply a hearing person who cannot hear.
Benjamin’s mother was active duty military during the early months of his gestation. During this time, she experienced severe allergic reactions to chemicals used in the dental laboratory in which she worked. There was also inadequate ventilation. These things prenatally, combined with a traumatic birth, left Benjamin with a severe hearing deficit from birth, most likely an injury to the auditory nerve.
Benjamin has never heard the voices of those who love him, or the sounds of animals, traffic, tones of appliances or machines, the wind or rain on the roof top, etc. You know…all those things we as hearing people take for granted. He hasn’t learned speech because he has never heard speech. What he has done is built strength of character and a will to accomplish the things he sets his mind to. These things have benefited him in many ways. He excels in the workplace, is a dependable, great, strong worker, skilled welder, accomplished wrestler and all round great person. His quiet demeanor, kindness and quick wit draw others to him, young and old. He is adored by his dog, Biscuit, and all his nieces and nephews.
What: We are raising $10,000 to cover the first Stem Cell procedure, audiology appointments and possibly a second procedure in one year or speech therapy, depending on which one he needs first. We are working with Dr. Bill Johnson at Innovations Stem Cell Center in Dallas, Texas. This is the plan Dr. Johnson is recommending for now, however, we will give updates if and/or when his needs change.
How: The first appointment will go as follows…first the doctor will numb an area about the size of a quarter then harvest 3 ounces of fat. This fat will be put into a machine that will separate the stem cells. This process takes about two hours. At that point an IV will be placed into Benjamin’s vein and a shot will be given to him which will cause his body to allow the cells to pass the blood -brain barrier. This one shot will be the only medication used. There will be about a 10-15 minute wait for the shot to take affect then the stem cells will be added to the IV. Once the IV is complete, the waiting begins.
Why: Benjamin an anomaly. He always has been. From the beginning, doctors have not known what to do for Benjamin. This is a unique case. As far as the science, there’s very little data on work being done with stem cell therapy and auditory issues. However, with what is known, Benjamin is a perfect candidate. We want Benjamin to know we are doing all we can, leaving nothing on the table that might be of benefit to him.
Because there is no other case like Benjamin’s, of course there can be no promises of the outcome. Benjamin’s deafness is the result of an injury so as long as Ben’s body is giving out the information needed, in other words, his cells are still sending out pain messengers called “growth factors”, (cells that say here is the injury, come help us) stem cells will be attracted to them. When the stem cells get there, the growth factors tell the stem cells what to do to fix it. There’s no test that will show if this tract is still physically intact. We don’t know. At this point, our only option is to try. Worst case scenario, there is no change in Ben’s hearing. Best case scenario, Ben’s hearing begins lightly and strengthens until he has full range of hearing. Or, the third option, hearing somewhere along the spectrum.
If this is a mylan response the repair tends to be fairly quick. We could start to see some improvement that would be gradual within a few weeks. The other possibility is it’s the actual nerve fibers. What is heard in the right ear is processed in the left side of the brain and vice versa. So there is about 6-8 inches of distance on each side. The reason that’s important is in a perfect situation, a nerve can heal about a centimeter a month. 8 inches is approximately 15 – 20 centimeters. So if we have a perfect response then we’ve got about 20 months before you would expect to see a response. We can easily go months with no response only to realize later there is improvement as that nerve begins to finally grow. The reality is we just don’t have any history of what to expect. Then, as you can imagine, there may be years of therapy as Benjamin will begin the task of understanding language. There are realities as to how this will unfold.
We know this is a journey. Benjamin is excited. He only had one question when we talked to him about this… “Did that Dr. say I have to change my eating habits?” All who know him knows how funny that is!!!!!!! When we told him no, it has nothing to do with his diet, he immediately and without hesitation said, “I’m all in! Let’s do this!!!”
How: We invite you to be part of Benjamin’s journey. Are you all in to help us do this? Let’s rally around this great young man and see where the journey goes!!! Whether you can donate $5 or $5,000, we want everyone to be a part of this great experience. The more people, the stronger the bond. And the more we unite, the better the outcome.
When: The first appointment will be made as soon as we reach $7500. The appointment will be about two weeks out from that phone call.
We thank you for reading and sharing.
How you can help:
1. Please know this is about more than just raising the money. We ask you to keep Benjamin in your prayers for peace and wisdom for all of us, especially Dr. Johnson and his staff. We would love for as many people as possible to rally around Benjamin and show him how much he is loved.
2. Please ponder on ways you can help us share Benjamin's story. Feel free to write your own feelings about this, how you know Benjamin and our family and share, share, share. Let’s gather an army for Benjamin!
3. If you can and want to donate, please do. We appreciate your generosity.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. We are grateful for each and every act of kindness shown to us. We feel your love. Thank you.
Organizzatore
Donna Valdez
Organizzatore
Ogden, UT