Miraculous Eli

This is the most remarkable story, courtesy of Thoroughbred Times, about a donkey, Eli, who after being treated with stem cells, was able to stand even though he had been completely paralyzed! The video above is of Eli getting to his feet himself.

The drama begins when Eli, a pet donkey, was attacked inexplicably by his long time companion, Watson, and had his spinal cord traumatized. Watson apparently grabbed Eli by the scruff of his neck and shook him furiously.

In any event, the donkey rapidly began to decline, ultimately losing the ability to urinate, defecate and stand. As you might know, the equine's ability to survive is completely tied to his being able to stand. The donkey was rushed to Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Los Olivos, California, where the owner opted to try an experimental stem cell treatment, figuring she and Eli had nothing to lose.

Eli was injected with the first of three stem cell treatments on May 25. He responded by improving within 48 hours, and was actually able to stand in his stall on June 8 with the help of two vet techs. He relapsed, as is common after the first treatment, and on June 11, received his second treatment. He continued to improve until about twelve days later when he began to relapse again and received his third treatment.

On July 2, Eli was able to roll onto his sternum, unassisted and the video above was made on July 31 when he was able to stand by himself. Eli has since been released to his owner and continues to improve!

Needless to say, this development is incredibly exciting not only for equines but because of the implications for human spinal trauma. Stem cell therapy has not been tried in humans. One important piece of info that comes from Eli's case is the knowledge that adult stem cells, (even from donors, which Eli's were) do not cause adverse reactions.

Just something to remember when you are choosing political candidates in the future. Please do not stand in the way of this exciting and important field of research.