Minnesota Man With ALS Hopes Stem Cells Save His Life …

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO)A Minnesota man living with Lou Gehrigs Disease is hoping a unique treatment can help him defy the odds.

Fifty-one-year-old Steve Stefano was diagnosed with ALS in 2011.

The one-time long distance runner from Hugo is now in a wheelchair and needs a ventilator to breathe.

I would run sixmiles a day before I got sick, Stefano said.

As the saying goes, Stefano was living the dream. The former high school quarterback married his high school sweetheart. They had a son together, and life was good. That was until 2011, when pain in his shoulders eventually led to a life-changing diagnosis. Steve had ALS.

Denial, Stefano said. I didnt want to believe it. It was a hard day.

Steve now spends his days in his living room, and he needs around-the-clock care.

Instead of going out for a run, a ceiling track helps him get from his recliner to the bathroom. And a ventilator keeps him breathing.

But despite losing control of his life, Stefano still has hope.

Last month, Stefano made a grueling, cross-country trip to see a doctor at the Peace Wellness Center in Phoenix, Arizona. She performed a relatively new procedure on Stefano. She took stem cells from his fat tissue and injected them into his shoulders, legs and other problem areas.

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Minnesota Man With ALS Hopes Stem Cells Save His Life ...