Working to Walk Again
Chris McKinnon – CBS News KRE TV
A year ago Brandy Moss was just like any 16 year old. Moss doesn’t remember the car accident that left her paralyzed from the chest down, only what doctors told her at the hospital.
She explained, “I was going to pick my mom up from work and I went over a hill, the guy was on my side of the road and we just clashed.”
Moss does not like to look backwards so she continues to focus on what is ahead for her, “Even if it’s just little ways like helping me move
my fingers or something, even if it’s not walking, it would make life
so much easier.”
Her sights are now set on a stem-cell procedure, which is available in Panama.
Moss explained, “It’s my chance to walk.”
Gina McLoud, from Delta knows first hand how important this procedure can be. She’s had two stem cell procedures done, the first said, gave her results within a month. Once confined to her wheelchair, McLoud is now able to stand and walk but it hasn’t come easy.
She explained, “It’s not a miracle, it’s not a cure. You have to work
very hard.”
McLoud spends two to three hours a day in the gym, five days a week
making sure her muscles stay stimulated. As she continues to gain strength, she wants to dispel some of the myths about stem cell treatment, which she said has a stigma attached because of
misconceptions. For instance, her stem cell procedure uses adult stem cells and her own blood marrow.
Now McLoud serves as an inspiration for someone like Brandy Moss who hopes to one day walk again.
Since this stem cell treatment is not available in the United States, it’s extremely costly: about $30,000.
There is an auction to help raise money for Brandy Moss’s this Saturday, August 6th, at Zack’s Barbeque in Hotchkiss starting at 8am.
You can also make donation at the Delta County Federal Credit Union.
