He would be a vegetable and have no quality of life. That he would never walk... he would have no muscle development and would be in a wheelchair his entire life. Dryden was born with myelomeningocele, a form of Spina Bifida. Spina Bifida is a defect in the spinal cord that forms within only 26 days of conception. It causes the spine not to form properly, leaving an opening or a sac which is exposed on the back. This sac not only contains the spine, but in many cases, the nerves that run down the spinal cord as well. He also had a buildup of fluid on the brain known as Hydrocephalus. There are tubes that run the spinal fluid (which is created daily in the brain) down the spinal cord and keeps everything lubricated. One of these was blocked creating a "backup" of the fluid in his brain. In these cases, a shunt or valve needs to be placed in the brain to drain and regulate the fluid manually. The valve is placed in the head, and a tube is run from the ventricles where the fluid is built up to the shunt. Then an additional tube is run from the valve into the stomach to drain the fluid. Dryden has had surgery to correct both of these issues. The spine surgery was hours after his birth, the brain surgery was 2 days later. He has since had 3 additional surgeries. Though the spine was placed back inside the body and the sac closed, the nerve damage cannot be repaired. He has no sensation from his knees down to his toes. He also has no movement in those areas. There are tons of other things that go along with the nerve damage too. Dryden has very little to no control over his bowel/bladder. He sometimes needs to be cathetered in order to keep his kidneys safe. He also has hip dysplasia because he lacks the muscle to keep his hip in place. And as far as movement... well, he has a lot more than anyone thought!! That being said... there's more that can be done on top of therapy and hard work!! After doing extensive research on the subject, we have decided that we are going to bring Dryden to the Nova Cells Institute in Mexico. (http://www.novacellsinstitute.com/) They specialize in cancer and neurologic conditions (like Spina Bifida) and the results have been nothing less than amazing. They use ONLY NON EMBRYONIC cells, which means that they only come from full term cord blood and placenta... as well as using the person's own bone marrow when needed. The treatment is costly, but we will do everything in our power to make sure this happens. We could use your help making this happen. The total cost of treatment, travel and lodging and all related expenses is going to be close to $30,000. We obviously don't have this money laying around, and know you don't either. ANY donation amount is appreciated. ALL MONEY RAISED WILL GO TOWARDS CURRENT AND FUTURE TREATMENT, LODGING AND TRAVEL for DRYDEN. Please make our Dream for Dryden a reality. We can't do this alone.
