After a car accident fractured Laura Dominguez’s back, Doctors told her that she would never walk again. The damage to her spinal cord left her paralyzed below the neck, but she refused to accept the prognosis, and with the help of her mother, she moved to San Diego where she could undergo extensive physical therapy and research possible solutions.

Eventually, they found a groundbreaking new surgical procedure developed by Dr. Carlos Lima of Portugal. The procedure involved using adult stem cells taken from the olfactory sinus tissue and transplanting them into the spinal cord injury site. After the procedure, she returned to California where she continued her physical therapy regimen before returning to her home in San Antonio, TX. At her next MRI, 70% of the lesion on her spinal cord had healed. Laura also began to regain feeling in parts of her upper body. Her feeling improved over time, and now she can even stand with the assistance of a walker.

She is scheduled to have another groundbreaking procedure in Portugal, where adult stem cells will be injected into her original injury site after some scar tissue is removed. Laura’s courage and optimism have carried her through this entire process. Though the surgery itself has not taken place yet, she is determined to walk again. To read the Laura’s full story, click here.