The heart see's what's invisible to the eye.
- H. Jackson Brown Jr

About Me

My photo
Doug was born on September 1, 2010. At 2 months old he was diagnosed with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia(ONH). ONH is when you have an under developed optic nerve causing vision impairment. In Doug’s case, his optic nerves are about 75% smaller than average size. We were told there was nothing we can do to improve his vision, but we refused to believe that was it. After hearing about stem cell treatments being done in China, that include multiple injections & various therapies, we began fundraising. We were able to raise enough money and went to China end of July, 2012. Since then we have noticed multiple changes in Dougie's vision. He is responding to things double to triple the length he was prior, and also reacting to different colors that he had never responded to prior to going. We are ready to go back and have began fundraising for more treatments because we feel they will only improve his vision more. These treatments are not cheap and insurance does not cover any of it. Starting at $24,000 plus travel and expenses, we need around $40,000 total. We did it once; we know we can do it again! Please help us create this MIRACLE and help give our son the gift of sight.
*******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure******* *******NO EMBRYONIC CELLS are used during this procedure*******

Thursday, September 29, 2011

To be 'Accepted'

This weeks BIG NEWS…. We received a letter saying Doug was ACCEPTED FOR TREATMENTS!!!!! This is sooo super exciting! We got some more accurate amounts about the cost and just to give everyone a little knowledge of where the money is going, total it looks like its going to be right around 30,000. There are a couple packages we can choose from that range from 6-8 injections and 15-21 Days in China. After a little discussing we figured if we going to go there, we might as well go for the most treatments we can! So it would be at least 21 days in china and 8 injections. We can also decided to ‘add on’ injections while we are there if we have the funds to afford it.

We want to make sure everyone understands this is something we might need to do several times… You have to realize that these treatments are first going to work on the inside wiring, the optic nerve . Optic nerves have about 1.1 million nerve cells each and we do not know what specific nerves are/aren’t developed. As we said before Doug currently responds to light a lot! His pupils dilate according to the light in the room just like they should which is already AMAZING NEWS! With each treatment you can get results up to about a year after. We could see no results until 8 months from being back or maybe see results with the first treatment. It works differently with each person. We can only hope things work for the best and he could be reaching out for toys before we come home! We will continue to raise money to keep going back as we need to until there are no other possible results he could have! We want him to have x-ray vision when we are done, hehe!

Dougie keeps heading in the right direction. The other day he caught glimpse of a shadow on the wall from the ceiling fan, then tried to reach out and grab what he was seeing. We couldn’t believe our eyes, even started to cry a bit! Just another example of how much we don’t know, when it comes to his vision! He recently started with the, I get into every, and ANY, thing I can get my hands on! He is moving all over the house and we love love love it. Though it will sure get super old in a week! Haha

We want to thank everyone who is helping us get the word out, and also specifically thank those who have gone above and beyond, and started their own little way to help us get as much money donated as they can! Words can’t describe how much it really means to us!

THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU!


-The Dillons

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Spread the Word!!!

The word is getting around! The more we share it the more people read about it! AND, if you haven’t noticed we are getting closer to our goal every day! Most of our advertising is via face book, as that’s our main communication to the world (haha), but also word of mouth. Those who have other networks are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED to share it any other way.

Some people have questioned the process of which stem cells are retrieved. We just want to clarify that this facility uses adult stem cells only and no embryonic cells will be used during any treatments PERIOD! If any one has any questions we are more than willing to try and answer all of them. There is also some links on the left hand side of the blog under the ‘Check this Out’ section that might help too. One goes specifically to the facility that will work with us (Beike Biotech), and also some face book pages there as well that you can check out.

We are now in the process of getting all medical records sent out to the doctors in China! This excites me greatly! Each step forward is a step closer to improvement in our son’s sight! We are also now planning our first fundraiser event, a Beef and Beer, and are looking for donations of any kind for prize baskets that will be auctioned off. Also, if any one knows of a good place that might help us with the event or if you feel you would like to be a big part of the planning and setting up just let us know. There will be plenty of things that will need to be done including, selling tickets, getting permits together, and many other things. You can contact us at coleyni85@comcast.net or Dubdilla@yahoo.com and we will let you know how you can help! More information will be posted about when and where it will be held when we get it all worked out.

While all that is going on…..

Doug is now officially completely off bottles! Mom stopped him cold turkey and he had absolutely no problem with it! He is pulling himself up any where he can and rolls around to get from place to place. We had the opportunity to go to the zoo with some family and had a blast! Doug got to play with a little bunny and loved his fur... he did so well with his ‘gentle hands,’ and we also marched in the parade to stand up for extinction… Ok so Dougie was strolled and I walked, but we were still in the parade! All in all this has been a very busy, productive, fun week, with many more like this to come!

Keep up all the great work with sharing our page. We are so thankful for any and every help we get!
-The Dillon’s

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

First things First!

I thought it would be nice to fill everyone in on where Doug is now with his ONH and how he is progressing even with this little set back...

After Doug was diagnosed with ONH, we had to go through a series of tests and blood work, and also meet multiple specialist doctors, to see if anything else was affected during the development of his brain. Some children with ONH have other issues, such as diabetes isopodous, or issues with the pituitary gland. We took Doug for an MRI when he was about 3 months old. His Neurologist (doctor specifying in brain development), and Neuro Ophthalmologist (eye doctor) went over the results and everything looked GREAT! He is showing no signs of any other issues at this time, although as he gets older we will need to keep checking that everything continues in this direction.

Doug himself doesn’t let any of this hold him back. He is meeting all milestones and is on his way to running a-muck around our house. He is such a smart little man and soaks information up like a sponge. He loves anything that has to do with rocking bouncing or jumping and, unless teething is involved, he is one of the happiest and cutest little babies we have ever met (This opinion might be a little biased!:D)! Doug enojoys playing with his voice and especially likes to call (more like scream) for his ‘dada’. Even without stem cell treatment, he gives us no reason to believe that his life will be any less than normal.

All the fundraiser planning starts now! We’ve got a million ideas, but are open to any others. The form to be 'accepted' for treatment was filled out and sent in this week, and we recently got a tax credit number. Next is making an account with PNC. With this account we can then open a link to pay pal for those who would like to donate. Until then, please contact us through e-mail at: Dubdilla@yahoo.com

We will keep you updated on the fundraisers we are working on, and will include a calendar of set dates. We are also in the process of trying to figure out how to attach a meter for the amount that has been raised and some other fun things to follow as well.

We just want to thank everyone now for the support we already have and we are only just starting! It’s good to know there are so many who care for us and our family, and especially our son Doug!

Thankyou thankyou thankyou! :) -The Dillon’s<3