Quadriplegic’s progress called “phenomenal”

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Bill Orr is not quite walking. But he’s getting close. And his progress may be one of the best stories of 2010 for a whole lot of reasons.

The 50-year-old Aurora man has been a quadriplegic for half his life — since a car hit him while he was riding his bike home on Route 34 in Oswego back in 1986.

In August, Orr underwent what many believe is a first of its kind stem cell procedure in Naples, Fla. — using bone marrow from his hip that doctors hope will rejuvenate the dead spine cells.

The procedure is showing “amazing” promise.

Orr was at the Naples office of Dr. Sannas Grekos when we talked last week. This was the first checkup since the treatment — and both doctor and patient were over-the-top excited about what was taking place.

Orr had known the appointment would be positive. That’s because it now hurts to comb his hair, the result of “more sensation in my body.” Plus, he can now do 200 sit-ups and pushups, as well as 20 leg squats in the therapy pool at Delnor Hospital in Geneva.

And — here’s the really good sign — he does so without any muscle spasms.

“There is a remarkable difference,” he told me just days before he flew to Florida for the checkup.

Grekos could not agree more, calling Orr’s progress “phenomenal.” And it’s only going to get better, the doctor added, because it’s after two or three months that the real benefits seem to kick in.

You can go to our Web site, beaconnewsonline.com, to see the video shot in the doctor’s office of Orr taking “real steps” with the help of his walker. “I was actually picking up my feet ... not just shuffling,” he told me, the excitement evident in his voice.

In fact, the excitement was so overwhelming that the local Fox Network reporter who interviewed Orr before his treatment came back for a second interview that aired on television station last week.

“This is nothing short of a miracle,” said reporter Roy Ramos, when I caught up with him a few hours later. “Bill’s not actually walking, but he is taking steps, and just the fact he can stand up and let go of the walker is amazing.”

The enthusiasm is bigger than Bill Orr, however. Grekos believes stem cell therapy has the potential to revolutionize medicine, but it’s not going to happen through the FDA or pharmaceutical companies. “It’s going to take a grass-roots movement,” he said.

Orr wants to be part of that movement, as well. He and his friends are working on a fundraiser — for more information on the Harley Davidson motorcycle that will be raffled off, go to William Orr’s Facebook page — to help others who could benefit from the therapy.

Orr hopes to someday be on the back of a Harley himself again. In the meantime, he’s relishing every new sensation, big or small. It’s this amazing work ethic and attitude, his doctor insists, that will help get this man back on his feet again.

“I feel like a new person,” said Orr. “And it’s only going to get better.”

­ Have a comment on this column or an idea for one? Contact Denise Crosby at dcrosby@stmedianetwork.com