Taylor resident says stem-cell treatment in Panama a success

Matthew McDermott and Faith Phillips went to Panama earlier this year in order for McDermott to receive stem cell treatment. (Faith Phillips, Facebook)

TAYLOR, B.C. — A Taylor resident, who was involved in a severe vehicle crash in 2021, says the stem cell treatment he received in Panama City was a success.

Through funds raised at the I Need Legs 2022 fundraiser, Matthew McDermott and his fiance Faith Phillips went to a stem cell research facility in Panama and returned home in mid-July.

McDermott said the shot procedure was a success, and he’s experienced some feeling return to his legs, though he is continuing physiotherapy.

Phillips said he’ll do two more treatments, about six months to a year apart, to see what he gets back each time.

“This time around, when we say that the treatment was a success, it just means that when he was getting treated, all the symptoms that came with it were normal,” Phillips explained.

While in Panama, she said they met many people at the institution who had success with the treatments.

“We met a gentleman who was paralyzed and only had one leg, the other is prosthetic, he has done three treatments, and he is walking now,” Phillips said.

She said another man they spoke with uses the treatments in place of taking prescription pain medication.

“When he feels like he’s in pain, he goes in for another treatment,” Phillips said.

The couple had just purchased their first home and were days away from taking their first vacation together when on July 12th, 2021, McDermott was hit by a logging truck on his way to work.

“My pickup truck was sent through the air and then dropped in a field [and] the truck drove mock speed into a pile of boulders,” McDermott explained in a letter prior to the fundraiser last September.

“There were three other passengers that day. Two walked away without a scratch, one broke his back but can still walk, but I got the worse of it when the doctors told me I will no longer walk.”

After looking at a few different options, the couple found a stem cell research facility in Panama.

The couple would like to thank the community for all the donated money and support they have received.