Toronto Woman Returns From Stem Cell Treatment In China

Sunday December 3, 2006

Cheryl Paget traveled all the way from Mississauga to China in the hopes that she might one day be able to walk again.

The Toronto resident went in pursuit of a controversial operation involving stem cell treatment, and on Sunday she returned home and wheeled into the arms of her daughters at Pearson International Airport.

Paget was paralyzed from the waist down after falling off a horse in 2003.

"I thought, 'That's it, my life is over, what am I going to do now?'" she said.

But one month ago, hope took on a new form, and Cheryl went to China for a procedure that isn't available in North America.

Millions of umbilical cord stem cells were injected into her body as part of the therapy. The price tag for the operation was $21,000.

Still, she has no regrets.

"Already I've got some leg movement, and I've got some sensation in my legs," Paget said.

"It's about hope, and without hope you don't have anything."

Paget is planning to return to China for further treatment next summer, and in the meantime she's documenting her on-going battle on her blog.

To read Cheryl Paget's blog, click here.