In 2017, Eric Lyons, an American living in Cambodia, suffered a traumatic brain injury after hitting his head ‘very strongly’ on a door frame. According to Parents’ Guide to Cord Blood Banking: “His doctors explained to him that brain injury is like water dripping into a glass little by little… before the glass is filled, the patient may not recognise anything significant, but the damage already exists. Once the last drop fills the glass, it acts like a catalyst, and will show the results of all the damage.”
His accident involving the door frame may well have been the last drop that acted as the catalyst.
Eric began to lose his cognition, physical movement, memory, and the ability to collect his thoughts, read and speak. He claims he was “only 15%” of the person he was before his injury.
Looking to regain his former abilities, Eric enrolled on a trial at a brain clinic in Dallas after meeting 23 of the 24 inclusion criteria. After over 100 sessions of neurofeedback, and other therapies, he felt he was back to 70%.
Eric Lyons (picture credit: Parents’ Guide to Cord Blood Banking)
Stem cell therapy begins
Even at 70%, Eric claims he “did not have his memory back, and he could not stand working for longer than 30 minutes”. Looking for a way to regain his full cognitive ability, he learned that infusions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) could be used to treat brain injury.
Given his limited ability to read and analyse what he was learning in detail, he relied on others to help him make sense of the science. After five months of research, he felt confident it might work, and also discovered that MSCs were being used in clinical trials for stroke, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease too.
Fast forward to 2019 and Eric began three weeks of treatment at a hospital in Thailand, where he received 220 million umbilical cord MSCs, mainly via spinal injection but also intravenously (through the vein). This was complemented by sessions of physical therapy designed to promote muscle-nerve connectivity.
After treatment
The benefits were astounding and life enhancing. I can see myself going back for more treatments if and when it becomes necessary. I truly feel blessed to have found and then been guided along my path of recovery and health.
Following his treatment, he reported big improvements, claiming to have gained much more than he could ever have expected, saying he feels he is now able to life the lifestyle he had before his accident. He even runs marathons.
Eric concludes: “The benefits were astounding and life enhancing. I can see myself going back for more treatments if and when it becomes necessary. I truly feel blessed to have found and then been guided along my path of recovery and health.”
- Read the full story on Parents’ Guide to Cord Blood Banking
- Visit Eric’s YouTube Channel
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