Family says stem cell transplant will give adoptive son sight By Julie Snyder ST. CLAIR SHORES — Kaden Strek is a happy 6-year-old boy. He enjoys spending time with his family, laughing at his sister Hailey, playing with baby sister Teagan, and attending school, where he receives therapy that’s making him stronger every day. Parents Tom and Elisabeth Strek of St. Clair Shores say Kaden’s improvements over the years have been tremendous, but they could nonetheless be much better had he eyesight for guidance. Kaden was born three months early under extremely difficult circumstances. His birth mother was a drug addict who had ingested cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines on the day of his birth. Elisabeth Strek said Kaden died twice the day of his birth but fought back; however, his 2 1/2 pound body was left extremely damaged and his prognosis was grim. “He was severely addicted, and the doctors did not expect him to live,” she said. “Child Protection Services said he would be institutionalized for life and would not attempt to place him.” The Streks, who only two days prior to Kaden’s birth learned they were expecting their first child, decided to adopt him. Kaden’s handicaps are extremely severe: spastic dipelegic cerebral palsy hydrocephalus, developmental apraxia of speech — a speech disorder that interferes with a child’s ability to correctly pronounce sounds, syllables and words — and he’s legally blind. “It’s like looking through a straw that’s held a foot away from your eye,” said Tom Strek. “He wants to keep up with his sisters and his cousin, but he can’t because of his balance issues, and he can’t use a walker for an extended period of time. The balance issues revolve around his eyesight.” Kaden was hospitalized for 25 weeks in just his first two years of life, undergoing 15 major surgeries, including his brain, heart and abdomen. He has had 29 therapists, and his current weekly therapy regime includes physical, occupational, vision, speech, swimming, orientation and mobility. Years of investigating treatments for their son have directed the Streks to umbilical cord blood stem cell treatment, where, at centers across China, genetic and other disorders, including sight, are responding well to treatments. Elisabeth said Kaden is in need of treatments and therapy programs that are not covered by insurance. Their primary goal is to raise funds to get Kaden to China for umbilical cord blood stem cell treatments. “These treatments are not available in the United States and could dramatically impact his quality of life,” she said. One trip to China costs approximately $40,000 and includes stem cell treatments, therapy, travel and expenses. Intense therapy programs in the United States run $110 per hour, and Kaden would require about 12 hours of therapy each week, Elisabeth said. The Streks have a bank account that allows those interested to make a donation to a fund for the trip to China. Additional goals are to fund therapy services and equipment not covered by insurance. “The improvement to his life will be immeasurable,” Tom said. “The sooner we do this for him, the better; because the younger they are, the better the outcome.” Kaden attends Keith Bovenschen School for Special Needs Children in Warren, a non-academic school where students work on daily living skills, like eating, toileting and gaining some independence. “He loves to swim and he can stay in the pool for an hour,” said Elisabeth. “He’s far from a ‘vegetable’ like the doctors predicted, but he’s still pretty limited. We’ve been lucky. He’s a very happy kid.” Donations can be made to via a Web site for Kaden, or by mail to OUR Credit Union, 3030 Normandy Road, Royal Oak, MI 48073, payable to Kaden Strek Trust. For more information or to help, go to www.helpkaden.org. You can reach Staff Writer Julie Snyder at jsnyder@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1039. |
