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Ed Yeates Reporting After a tragic snowmobile accident two years ago, a young man from Layton is going to China for a stem cell transplant directly into his damaged spinal cord.
Though the snowmobile accident left him a quadriplegic, 23-year-old Kirk Green has come a long way over the past two years. He now drives himself to therapy at Neuroworx in Salt Lake. He's regained partial use of his arms, has enough strength to hold himself up, and according to Jessi, his wife, more is yet to come.
Jessi Green, Wife: "Even now he's more independent. He's brushing his teeth. He's shaving. He's learning new things every single day."
Although China has been doing stem cell transplants five to six years now, Kirk's realistic. Obviously, he hopes for the best possible scenario but would feel comfortable even with small pieces of recovery. He's talked with other transplant recipients, including a young man from Florida.
Kirk Green: "He got a lot of feeling back, a lot of hot and cold sensation, and he has the ability to stand up in parallel bars now and kind of stand on his own weight."
Jan Black, MS, PT, Clinical Director, Neuroworx: "There's four different countries out there doing this stuff. It's really the family, through their research, that decides their loved one or family member is a candidate for what this specific group in China is doing."
University of Utah graduate students will actually be following Kirk, setting a baseline before he goes to China, and then following his progress when he comes back for two years.
In a first of its kind study, the Ph.D physical therapy students in the College of Health will document every change that occurs with Kirk, on a daily basis.
Again, what is Kirk's goal? He wants more independence, the opportunity to be able to do his own thing.
Kirk Green: "I hope to pursue a career in business. That's what I'm going to school for."
Kirk leaves for China later this month. The blood stem cells used in the transplants come from newborn discarded umbilical cords.
