Help Andy Fight Crohn's

Dear all,

Thanks for your support, Andrew got enough money for his first Stem Cell Treatment and we hope that he'll not need more than one. However, we will post an update during his treatment next week on all developments and we will follow up with an update on his condition after the treatment, as this treatment may be a big turning point in the medical history and a big hope for many patients across the world.

Breaking News: The US Food and Drug Administration now plans to help expedite the development of stem cell therapies proved to be safe and effective.

Andrew needs our help fighting his sever Crohn's disease… Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease, it attacks the lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and disrupt the body's ability to digest food, absorb nutrition and eliminate waste in a healthy manner. 

Andrew's situation is very critical, he has been fighting Crohn's since he was 8 years old (for 15 years now), living in and out hospitals with six major surgeries up to 8 hours each. 

Andrew needed an ileostomy at the age of 10 (surgery attaching the intestine to the surface of the skin/stomach in order to attach a bag to get rid of body waste). At age of 21, Andrew has most of his intestine and the large bowel removed. Surgery is impossible now as too many have been done so far which prevents his body from healing. 

Doctors in Canada have tried all available treatments with no success. Andrew might be that one person that could die from Crohn... 

Andrew’s last hope is the umbilical cord stem cell treatment at the Stem Cell Institute in Panama. The umbilical cord is the tube that connects a baby to its mother. Blood in the umbilical cord has stem cells that can help give life to patients with diseases and disorders such as leukemia, lymphoma, and aplastic anemia. The Canadian Blood Services collects now qualified donations for such treatments, however, they have not applied it yet to Crohn’s patients: https://blood.ca/en/cordblood 

At the Panama Institute, doctors are examining Andrew’s history and updated test results for potential umbilical cord stem cell treatment. Mel Gibson, the actor, has taken his father for treatment at this Institute; he discusses in below link his father’s miraculous recovery, literally from his deathbed after receiving this treatment at the age of 92.  He’s currently 99 and still going strong having been treated in Panama several times since then: https://www.cellmedicine.com/stem-cell-therapy-panama-neil-riordan-mel-gibson/ 

We want to help Andrew getting his last resort of hope and live some days with no pain!!! Every Dollar Counts!

Andrew’s background:

When Andrew was 8 years old, he was always having diarrhea and doctors in Lebanon had diagnosed him with Crohn’s Disease and had started treating him before we immigrated to Canada, however the process was kind of slow in Lebanon as it was rare back there (they stated that he was the youngest diagnosed with this disease). Canadian doctors confirmed that he has Crohn's Disease at the age of 9 and started treating him since then.

There are several treatments available for patients to help put their symptoms in remission. In more severe cases, doctors will recommend undergoing surgery(ies). Depends on the severity, procedure may require removing the inflamed parts of the intestine (large intestine and/or small intestine). Unfortunately, Andrew needed an ileostomy at the age of 10. This procedure needed Andrew's whole large bowel removed called total colectomy. Andrew's body cannot handle any more surgeries and doctors recommended a new treatment for Crohn's that only four patients have tried in Ontario Canada with one case on remission, an infusion of chemotherapy and bone marrow stem cells transplant. This solution would be very risky since chemo does kill off good and bad cells which Andrew cannot afford due to his weight loss and lack of immunity. However, looking into the potential umbilical cord stem cell treatment, it seems that there is hope for Andrew to temporarily or hopefully, on a long term, improving his immune system and reducing his pain and suffering. 

Andrew is in pain on a daily basis due to his Crohn's flare ups, but to this day, we still have not seen him cry nor complain even when recovering from his major surgeries. 

We need your help making Andrew’s treatment possible with the least amount of worries. Whether it is financial assistance, your prayers, thoughts, and/or sharing this message with friends on social media platforms. The initial treatment costs approximately $35,000 and he will need more treatments and further assistance in the days, weeks and months to come.

Thank you in advance for donating and supporting Andrew in his fight.