The Indian River lion's club recently held a benefit dinner for an 8 year old girl in our local community. Abby Johnson "Superstar" suffers from cerebral palsy. Abby’s cerebral palsy is classified as spastic quadriplegic which means she fights her very tight muscle tone throughout all four limbs of her body. Secondary to the cerebral palsy she also struggles with oral motor ability and has difficulty eating, drinking and talking. She receives most of her nutrition through a feeding tube but does eat some things orally. Abby communicates mostly with her amazing smile that could stop a crowd! She is very intelligent despite her disabilities and understands everything that is going on around her. She can answer any “yes” or “no” question with a head nod answer. Abby also has seizures that seem to be getting worse as she gets older.

In China they are giving children and adults UMBILICAL (not fetal) stem cells through their cerebral spinal fluid. As the stem cells reach the brain they are finding the damaged area of the child’s brain and basically attaching there, multiplying there, and causing amazing improvements in the lives of the children receiving the treatments. This is the treatment Abby's family is seeking in hopes to better her condition.


The community support for this event was simply AMAZING! We were able to raise over $6,000 to help get Abby on her way to China!! Thank you to everyone who helped make this event such a success. If you would like to donate towards Abby's cause, please check out the donations pages on our website. When sending a donation for Abby Johnson, please note that the donation is for the AJ Superstar Account. The family has raised nearly $20,000 for this treatment. We are determined to see this family through & helping them raise the remainder of the $43,000 needed for this treatment in China.