For 33-year-old Bucks County resident Katie Parrish, the medical procedure she has been raising money for could mean a reintroduction to life without pain.
When Parrish was 5 in 1988, she was in a bad car accident, which resulted in a closed-head injury. The injury resulted in the equivalent of a stroke in adult. At 5, Parrish lost most of the use of the left side of her body.
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Now, Parrish is about a quarter of the way towards funding the therapy which could give her full use of her left side back. According to Parrish, stem cell therapy would have a roughly 90 percent chance of working to give her full use of her left side.
“The pain is just getting worse and worse, so I really wanted to find a solution,” Parrish explained.
In order to get the three day therapy, she would need to travel to California, where she would go through a day of orientation, a day where her own stem cells would be extracted and a day of actual stem cell therapy, where the cells are injected all over her body. Unlike most major procedures, there is no long recovery time. Parrish would be able to be on her way home and back to her life relatively quickly.
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“It means the world to me,” Parrish said in regards to having full use of her left side again.
Some people notice results right away, while others take up to about six months to notice an improvement after treatment.
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Parrish has lived in Pennsylvania for most of her life, having moved here from Florida about a year after the accident.
Melissa Samuels, a lifelong friend of Parrish has been by 33 year old’s side the entire time, helping and supporting Parrish as she works towards what she hopes will be a recovery.
The next major benefit to help Parrish is a beef and beer of sorts. The “Benefit for Katie Rockin’ and Rollin’ for Stem Cells” will be taking place at Brady’s Irish Pub in Croydon. The donation to get in is $25 per person or $40 for a couple. There will be raffles, a 50/50 and pool tournaments. Food and beer are included with the donation.
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If interested, you can contact Parrish directly to order tickets at 215-539-3778.
The benefit is scheduled for Friday, June 23 at 7 p.m. If you can’t make it out to the benefit but still want to donate to the cause, you can do so at Parrish’s GoFundMe.
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“I just thank everybody for their support and appreciate all of the help everyone has given me,” Parrish said.
