Woman with Brain Damage Better Thanks to Adult Stem Cells

ABC Online, January 16, 2007

Quita was competing at Timber Creek when she fell and sustained injuries which left her unconscious for six weeks. After suffering severe brain injury, she says adult stem cell research has helped her recover from her terrible camp drafting disaster four years ago.

The adult stem cell therapy has made an immense difference bearing in mind the fact that her doctors feared that she would not even survive.

"I feel an improvement, it's a lot easier to move all my limbs on the horse, and just balance is a lot better," she said.

She decided to make the trip to Germany for adult stem cell treatment with the help of more than $40,000 her family raised through various means.

Quita doesn’t want others to make the same oversight she did, as she was not wearing a hard helmet the day she was competing. She says regrets her decision every day.

"If you are not wearing a helmet, put a bloody helmet on," she said.

"Otherwise you can't believe how far I have come from, in such a difficult way to how it was supposed to end up, and how hard it was, to end up the way I am now."

Quita’s dramatic improvement is most apparent in her improved mental awareness and physical mobility says her mother.

"What I would like to say to politicians is, not to be so narrow minded when it comes to things like stem cell treatment," Gladys said.

"Brain injuries do improve, they can improve and Quita's the living example of that.”

"And I would like to think that other people in our situation didn't have to do a lot of fund raising and hard work to try and get overseas for a little bit of hope - we should have that hope in Australia."