Improvement seen since stem cell transplant

By Victoria Adelus, KTVZ.COM

For more than thirty years, Steve Foster has been living his life partially paralyzed, but he hopes a recent trip to Mexico is going to change that.

"I want this...bad," said Foster, an adult stem cell patient.

Foster traveled south to undergo the adult stem cell transplant procedure, in an effort to gain back what he once had.

"I'm tired of this life, and the way it is now," he said.

Julie Hood, a human biology assistant professor at Central Oregon Community College, says although the treatment isn't performed in the U.S., it has been performed successfully in other countries.

"In Steve's case, it sounds like they took stem cells from his bone and put them in his spinal cord, and they develop neurons, or nerve cells," Hood said.

Through reviewing research, Hood says she learned adult stem cell treatments can have both negative and positive results.

"The positive of using adult stem cells is, it is your own body - you're not destroying an embryo. You can use any cell to get this, so you're not going to reject it," she said. "The negative is it's going to be older or it could be sick."

Now back from Mexico, Steve is in great spirits, and his long-time friend Terri Johnston says she's already seen changes.

"I saw his arm relax the very next day down his side, which it has always been across his stomach and his voice was better three days after his procedure,"said Johnston.

Foster said, "Before I had to push the air out and now it feels a little more easier and a little less raspy."  

Johnston says he can even walk up stairs with less of a struggle.

"He took his first step with his right leg instead of his left, which he hasn't done in 30-plus years," Johnston said.

And Foster said, "I feel more energetic, after I stretch. I have more movement and flexibility."

Foster's journey isn't over yet, but with help from his friends and through living by his own motto of "Attitude is Everything," he says he hopes the procedure will change his life forever.

I'm much happier," Foster said. "I have hope, I have a vision...angels are with me."

Foster says he still has a few more procedures to undergo for him to fully recover and you can help him in his journey.

The Black Horse Saloon is raffling off a 2007 BMC Hooligan Motorcycle for 25 dollars a ticket.

The lucky ticket will be drawn on July 26th, and all of the money raised will go toward helping Foster.