Support Jonah's Journey to Reach Full Potential

My name is Katie and I am setting up this fundraising campaign to support a wonderful little boy and his loving, resilient and amazing parents to provide him with the best life for him they possibly can.

Here is some information about Jonah that is helpful to understand some of the challenges he faces:

Among other things, Jonah is diagnosed with Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) which is a dangerous condition that happens when your brain doesn’t get enough blood and oxygen with a complicated birth. It can be fatal or cause permanent brain damage in severe cases. Some of what Jonah experiences is low growth rate and weight, he is fed through a G-Tube in his stomach, he has low-muscle tone, balance an coordination and currently has no speech.

Jonah also has a diagnosis of Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological condition that can present as issues with muscle tone, posture and/or a movement disorder. It’s the result of damage to your brain during fetal development or another developmental disability that affects the way your brain develops. Despite his challenges, Jonah is an obviously smart and happy little fellow who frustrates when his body cannot keep up with the new things he is learning and attempting to do.

Here is some information that is helpful to understand some of the challenges his parents face:

Jonah has MANY appointments and a busy schedule. Douglas (dad) works full-time as a mechanic and volunteer fire-fighter and Sondra (mom) works as an Educator at the YMCA, where Jonah attends daycare while mom is working. The family faces significant financial commitments for Jonah's care, some of which (but certainly not all) are covered by benefits. Here are examples of these cost:

$480 monthly Physio

$680 weekly for food

$250 feeding tube changes every 3 months

$150 feed bags every month

$100 for syringes monthly

Gas $300 monthly to get to all Jonah's appointments

In addition to financial challenge, the family face little time that is not scheduled and no time where they are not looking for new ways to help thier son.

I will not be able to articulate better than mom as to why this treatment is so important for Jonah so here she is . . .

A message from Mom (Sondra):

Every parent wants what’s best for their child and when opportunities arise they take them.

When Jonah was born he suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting in countless diagnoses including Moderate HIE and Cerebral Palsy. and multiple others. This has challenged Jonah with everyday tasks in day to day living which is heartbreaking.

When Jonah was diagnosed, we didn’t know what the future would hold. There were many moments of fear, uncertainty, and countless questions. Jonah has shown us what true strength looks like. His resilience, his determination, and his infectious joy inspire us daily. If by any chance we are able to help him unlock and reach his full potential, we will jump on the opportunity.

We first heard about Stem Cells in July of 2024 and didn’t think much of it, as it was too much money and it was just too far out of reach. Coming back to research in 2025, all we can think about is how come we didn’t start this sooner.

With very large clinically proven trials, Stem Cell therapy is a regenerative medicine that can help damaged and non-functioning brain cells start to activate natural repair mechanisms that can quite literally ‘fill in pieces’ to an injured brain. With Stem Cells, you can go anytime for treatment although it’s recommend for optimal results that you go between the ages 1-4 since the brain is developing double time.

Canada, unfortunately is not publicly trialing Stem Cell treatment. Our research and speaking with other families with children with similar challenges led us to Rocky Mountain Regenerative Medicine in Colorado and a consultation with Dr. Khoshal Latifzai. Hope that Jonah’s world could improve was possible.

As you can imagine, as with most things in the medical world, there are costs associated that we are not able to afford right now. Douglas (Dad) and I have done everything we can to save however with the monthly costs associated with supporting Jonah's day to day life, it’s still not enough. We want to give Jonah the best that life has to offer but we need your help.

Costs associated with treatment (in USD):

  Banking Procedure(harvesting and storing Jonah’s stem cells: $7,000 + $1,000 for sedation

  Annual Storage Fee: $350

(waived for the first year)

  Stem Cell Deployment (after banking):

  Each vial (10-12 million cells) is $500 + shipping & insurance

  IV Deployment Cost: $750

Exosomes and Mannitol are often an additional choice people add into their

Stem Cell procedure;

  Exosomes - IV (should you choose) - $5,000

  Mannitol- Free (for pediatrics)

Travel costs (twice, once for harvesting and once for procedure) - $6,000

Fortunately, to complete this process every 2 years as recommended, the costs are significantly reduced to $5,000 as the centre stores and continues to grow the stem cells giving the family the chance to save for the future.

For more information on Rocky Mountain Regenerative Medicine in Colorado please see the following link:

Home - Rocky Mountain Regenerative Medicine

(https://rmrmco.com/)

Let’s help give Jonah and his family the chance they all deserve