A Shawnee resident is on a long path to recovery.
In April of 2016, Christopher Martin suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, which is when a blood vessel bursts, causing bleeding in the brain. The stroke damaged cells and damaged Martin's right side of his body.
After multiple visits to the hospital at the Cleveland Clinic and Mercy Health St. Rita's, Martin was frustrated where he was at, and pointed at a moment where he knew that his life was changed.
"I set a glass of water off to my right, stood up, I wanted to pick it up, and I realized that I couldn't," said Martin. "I couldn't from my right side... and it really irked me."
Martin was losing muscle, in addition to other complications as the months went on.
Then in July 2019, Martin decided to take action. He started visiting the gym seven days a week, and worked out two to three times a day. He hoped that the visits would help his body not only to recover muscle, but to regain the strength that he lost.
"I felt that I had more to give, you know?" explained Martin. "I wanted to be a better father, a better son, a better brother... a better friend."
Then, another positive came in 2020. Martin came across a government clinical trial in October of 2020 organized by MDstemcell. He paid the fee and was admitted to the trial, where bone marrow was taken from his back hip.
That marrow was then then turned into mesenchymal stem cells. Those cells have properties to auto-renew. The doctors then used the cells on Martin.
"When we have a stroke, little pieces are flipped out off the track. These mesenchymal stem cells go in and replace those."
Martin now continues his journey, one that has left doctors speechless at how much he has progressed over the years.
And while he still has a ways to go, he says that he hopes that his story inspired others to continue moving forward.
