Kara Anderson suffered a stroke before she was born. The Dyer girl, 9, is unable to walk, has seizures and limited use of her arms.

She also was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Over the years, Kara, a cheerful blond Sox fan who loves her Nintendo DS, endured numerous treatments for her conditions. Last month, she was scheduled to undergo major orthopedic surgery to lengthen tendons and muscles in her legs and de-rotate her left knee. Bone and tendon work were slated for both feet as well.

Then mom Jan Anderson received a phone call from her brother-in-law, David Mair, the COO of China Connection. The destination healthcare company specializes in helping patients locate and travel to China for medical treatment. 

Mair realized that the stem cell treatments under way at Wu Stem Cell could help Kara. His call sent Jan Anderson on an Internet search.

She learned that several countries are conducting stem cell research. The specialized cells, a cornerstone of cutting-edge medicine, can act as a repair system for the body. They also can help maintain regenerative organs like skin and tissue.

Yet Wu Stem Cell in Beijing incorporates the use of stem cells in a treatment program that includes injections and physical, occupational and massage therapy. Anderson was impressed by this less-invasive approach.

"They felt global improvements could be made, not just orthopedically, but also improvement in muscle tone and spasticity, cognition, intelligence, fine and gross motor control and also balance," the Dyer parent said.

"Given their expectation that much improvement could be made globally -- and the fact that they felt her seizure disorder could be stopped, meaning Kara would not be required to take medication for seizures for the rest of her life -- we made the decision to have the treatments done. We decided to cancel the surgery and instead come to China for the stem cell treatment."

Kara and her mother arrived in Beijing on Dec. 14. Kara's father, Brian, also of Dyer, is scheduled to join them this weekend.

The family is receiving financial and emotional support from Peace Lutheran Church in Schererville. Kara, Jan and her grandmother Doris Latasiewicz, of Schererville, are members of the congregation.

"We are starting a fund to defray the cost," says Joan Bodefield, a member of Peace Lutheran. Insurance, she noted, doesn't cover the cost of the treatment, estimated at $30,000.

As for Kara, the pre-teen is excited about the treatment.

"Kara is a brave girl," writes her mother in an e-mail from Beijing. "Her ability to continue to smile and work through adversity has always humbled me and also made me so proud of her. She has endured much in her nine years, and while she continues to smile, she has grown wary of doctors and afraid of pain after many tests, procedures, appointments and much therapy. 

"In her eyes, four injections sounded much preferable to surgery, though in all honesty, she would rather have done neither. She was excited, however, about an adventure to China, and the more we talked about it, the more excited she became. While it certainly has not been easy to be so far away from home and we miss home very much, Kara is doing well so far while we are here."

Readers can follow Kara's progress at caringbridge.org

Medical tourism

In Thailand, as many as 1.4 million visitors sought medical care in 2007, up from half a million in 2001 and bringing in $1 billion in 2007. That number is expected to triple by 2012, when the country's Health Ministry expects more than two million medical tourists. Thailand along with India are the leaders in the field but medical tourists also travel to Hungary, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina. Treatments range from the very serious such a cardiac surgery to cosmetic surgery and dentistry. It's estimated that medical procedures in Thailand are about 60 to 80 percent cheaper than similar ones in the U.S. Internet sites such as discovermedicaltourism.com, list the pros and cons of going overseas for treatments.

 

Caring Bridge

Jan Anderson is currently posting about her daughter's time in Beijing at Caring Bridge, a free online site that connects family and friends to share love, information and provide support during a health event, care and recovery.

"It was founded in 1997 by Sona Mehring when her good friend had a high-risk pregnancy," says

Melissa Holm, media relations specialist for Caring Bridge. "Sona is a high tech person and when she asked what she could do and was told to help people keep in touch, she came up with the idea of a Web site to help do that."

Seeing how effective the Web site was, Mehring started Caring Bridge.

"Caring Bridge seemed the best way to stay in contact with friends and family at home while we were in China for so many weeks," says Jan Anderson who posts about their journey every day. "It's wonderful for us to hear from so many at home as it helps to keep our spirits up here since we miss home a great deal."  

FYI: To follow Kara's progress, visit caringbridge.org