Community helps Gilbert boy with Cerebral Palsy

GILBERT, AZ - Seven-year-old Andrew Burkhart can now run like other kids his age, due to stem cell treatments and donations from strangers.

Kellie Burkhart says her son was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was 4 years old.

Cerebral palsy is a brain and nervous system disorder, which can cause motor disability in a child.

He was tongue-tied at birth pretty significantly, said Burkhart. His tongue was connected up front, so that was the first really obvious.

Burkhart says Andrew didnt talk until he was 3 years old. He also suffered severe gastrointestinal issues.

At 4 years old he weighed 50 pounds and still was in diapers.

Traditional methods werent working so Kelli turned to a doctor in California.

The doctor said we should do bone marrow from Andrews own hip. So he, the doctor, processed Andrews stem cells and then put it back into him through an IV, said Burkhart.

It was like Gods hand touched him and turned on a switch. His GI system was fixed and within a week, he was potty trained within a month, said Burkhart.

Insurance companies consider the stem cell therapy out of pocket. Each summer the family spends around $28,000 for Andrews treatments.

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Community helps Gilbert boy with Cerebral Palsy