United States, 18 years old

Seven years ago Travis was involved in a car accident which left him in a coma. He eventually woke up, but the brain damage had suffered severely affected his ability to move. Travis recovered many of his physical abilities, but his right arm remained immobile and he had a slight limp. He was unable to speak coherently and drooled.
On June 14th 2007, Travis began his treatment: 6 umbilical cord stem cell injections with rehabilitation therapy.

Before the treatment

Travis had absolutely no movement or tactile sensation in his right arm. Through inactivity, the arm looked discolored and felt cold. It could not be used to grip or manipulate objects at all, unless held and assisted by his other arm, which would tire him quickly. Motor function in his right leg was limited; he could walk but with a limp. In the early stages of physiotherapy he required a lot of attention from staff to perform simple exercises. Look at the videos of the early stages of his physiotherapy: Travis is frustrated with his inability to sustain activity for long periods.

His ability to close his eyes was also affected by the brain damage he sustained, and his speech was limited to poorly enunciated vowels. Travis had little control of his mouth, resulting in involuntary drooling.

After the treatment

On July 10th, 2007, Travis' major change was in his mouth: his mother told about a "75% improvement" in the control of his drooling, and noted that his swallowing has also improved. Travis regained voluntary control of his eyelids, which is a huge development. In addition to these improvements, Travis' right arm has reverted to a more natural color and temperature, which indicates an increase in motor-neurone activity. This sign of revitalization that promises something good in the future.

Videos:
- Before treatment
Travis' interview Play - Download
Travis' physiotherapy 1 Play - Download
Travis' physiotherapy 2 Play - Download
Travis' physiotherapy 3 Play - Download

- During and after treatment
Travis' mid-treatment physiotherapy Play - Download
Travis' mother speaking about improvements 1 Play - Download
Travis' mother speaking about improvements 2 Play - Download
Travis' post-treatment interview Play - Download

Travis' blog
This is one entry from his blog (www.travisashton.com) dated August 19th, 2007

“Hello everyone!

I APOLOGIZE for not updating sooner. We missed our family so much while we were gone and have tried to devote the last little bit to spending time together. We have also been taking care of our 8 puppies that our yellow lab had the night before we arrived home from China.

Travis is doing very well and is really motivated to continue his therapy and move forward in life. He has been spending quite a bit of time with his grandparents and with his uncles. He has been golfing quite a bit and 4-wheel riding up in the canyons, as a matter of fact he can drive by himself. He has actually been offered a job by Motormax International that manufactures the ATV’s, he will be starting tomorrow. He will work in their retail store and help with the production and the store front, he is pretty excited about that.

It is amazing, several months ago we did not know what Travis was going to do after graduation. We prayed that he would be able to progress and be productive. We didn’t know what would be best for him. His school really wanted him to go to a work program called ATEC that is for mentally and physically handicapped young adults. We felt very strongly that was not the route for him, but we did not know WHAT the route was. It seems things have just opened up for him. Your prayers really have made a difference in our life. Thank you.

The first week in September he will begin a very intense therapy program called ‘Now I Can’. It will be 4 hours a day and five days a week for one month. He will go from 8 A.M. to noon and then he will work in the afternoons. He will be pretty busy. We have seen improvements in his eyesight over the last few weeks and he continues to have more oral control.

Thanks to the Deseret News and Daily Herald for the recent articles they have done on Travis, we appreciate them. I promise to continue to update and keep everyone posted. It has taken a while to get back in the swing of things, I guess that’s how it goes when you have 5 kids and 9 dogs!

Missy Ashton”