Welcome to Kasen's Site!

Kasen is a very happy and healthy 6 year old little boy. He enjoys going to school, listening to music from the 1970's, swinging outside, and going for boatrides. Kasen lives in Nebraska, on the Missouri River, with his family. Besides his parents, Robbie and Amanda, Kasen also has two younger brothers. Kamden is 3 years old, and Kyler is 1 year old. Kasen attends school at Nebraska City Education Center for the Blind or Visually Impaired.

When Kasen was 7 weeks old, he was admitted to Children's Hospital in Omaha, NE. He was running a low grade fever and was vomitting. While he was there, a resident noticed that Kasen's eyes bounced back and forth. She notified another doctor, and an MRI was scheduled for the next day. The results devastated his family.Unfortunately, Kasen was born with a rare brain malformation known as Septo Optic Dysplasia. He also suffers from an eye condition known as Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. This condition has left Kasen blind. Due to his disabilities, Kasen also has problems with Hypoglycemia, takes growth hormone injections daily, has a history of seizures, and is developmentally delayed. Doctors said Kasen would never be able to sit up on his own, let alone crawl or walk. But, thanks to a GREAT team of teachers and therapists, Kasen did sit up, then crawl, and then walk all by himself! As a matter of fact, he started cane training this year and is doing fantastic!

On Sept.4, Kasen was accepted for a stem cell transplant treatment program that will be performed in Qingdao, China. Using stem cells harvested from the umbilical cords of healthy live-birth babies, Kasen's medical team will bathe his optic nerves in new stem cells. This treatment, which consists of 6 separate stem cell transfusions (1 of which will be given through IV and the rest will be injected directly into his spinal fluid) has been done on several other children. Kasen will also be treated for his brain malformation with the same procedure.

Kasen will be hospitalized for the treatment for a month. He will also be provided with a custom tailored rehabilitation program. He will be followed by a mix of therapists six days a week for several hours a day. He will also undergo Electronic Muscle Stimulation, Functional Manipulation, Activities of Daily Life education, and Chinese massage. It is this holistic approach and the incredible power of the stem cells that will give Kasen the best chance to see!

Kasen, and the other children who have been treated, are truly a part of something amazing. This technology is an answer to many parents' prayers. Until now, ONH has been described as an incurable disease. This treatment gives our children, our "Angels Unaware", the chance to see!

Kasen and his family left for QingDao, China on his birthday Sept. 29th and returned home on Oct. 29, 2008.

We hope you enjoy Kasen's story- Let us know you were here! Sign his guestbook!