Valley family hopes Germany stem cell transplant could help daughter talk

PHOENIX - A trip overseas could be a Valley family’s last hope to hear their daughter speak.

Sameera Khananisho’s 10-year-old twins are both disabled.

“I always tell people unless you walk in my shoes, you don’t know,” said Sameera.

Her son has autism. Her daughter Jasmin has Cerebral Palsy. She has never walked or talked.

“She can’t tell me ‘Mama I want a hug,’ she can’t tell me that,” cried Sameera.

The family has tried to help Jasmin communicate.

“She was not able to learn sign language, we thought ok lets try and get her a communication device,” said Sameera.

But Jasmin doesn’t have the control over her limbs she needs to use it.

Their last hope is a trip to Europe.

“Through a lot of research, I ended up finding this treatment center in Germany that takes adult stem cells,” said Sameera.

Here in the U.S. Jasmin would need umbilical cord blood for stem cell treatment.

“So they’ll actually take her bone marrow out, they’ll take the stem cells and they’ll reinject them,” said Sameera.

After the procedure in August Jasmin will undergo extensive speech and physical therapy, with the hope she could then learn to walk or even talk.

“And it might not be in a complete sentence, it could be two words which we’d be happy with,” said Sameera.

Sameera has talked with parents whose children have had the treatment.

“The story of how just hours after surgery he was able to sing the happy birthday song which was his favorite. When I hear stories like that, I know that, you know, we have to do this,” said Sameera.

The treatment and the travel will cost around $30,000. It is money the family is working to raise because they say no price is too high.

“My biggest hope is she talks, people can live normal lives without walking but they have to have a voice,” said Sameera.