Without stem cell treatment, Jeremy Drover would not have stood a chance of recovering from the horrific trampoline accident which left him paralysed in both arms and both legs.

But after undergoing the revolutionary procedure in a Portugal clinic last year, the 27-year-old is now living with genuine hope he could one day be able to walk again.

Mr. Drover — one of very few people in Bermuda to have received such an operation — has now spoken out to welcome news that a stem cell research centre could be opened on the Island within three months.

“My doctor’s a positive guy and he believes that one day I should be able to walk again. If that happens it would be incredible,” said Mr. Drover.

“Now to hear that there’s this other opportunity that I could have at my disposal with new stem cell research starting here — that’s pretty incredible too.”

Mr. Drover is unlikely to ever forget the fateful day — November 9, 2000 — when a few simple gymnastic tricks ended in disaster as his trampoline slipped on wet grass and he plunged head first to the ground. Landing on his neck, he suffered a dislocated spinal cord which rendered him quadriplegic, unable to use his arms or legs. As he desperately tried to come to terms with his condition, Mr. Drover was advised about the wonders of stem cell surgery, a remarkable new technique making headlines for both its controversial methodology and the miraculous results it was claiming to achieve.

Embryonic stem cell research sparked anger from church groups who campaigned vigorously against its reliance on the destruction of embryos. However, Mr. Drover learned of a centre in Portugal where stem cell operations were taking place without any need for embryos.

He duly signed up for treatment which would involve surgeons taking healthy stem cells from part of his brain and using a grafting technique to replace the damaged cells which had been bruised as a result of his injury.

Following a painstakingly lengthy wait, the operation took place at the cost of $50,000 in January last year. On waking after surgery, Mr. Drover noticed an instant improvement when his body thermostat, dysfunctional since the accident, had suddenly returned to normal. “I had always been very, very cold, even in Bermuda,” he said. “But the doctor told me I would come in with a sweater and leave with a T-shirt. He was right.

“One thing I hadn’t done for a long time was sweat. As soon as I woke up I was sweating buckets. I was really, really warm.”

More significant improvements in the months since surgery have seen him gradually building up strength in his arms and legs. “It’s like being reborn,” he said. “You have to learn how to use your muscles again, things you have never been able to use for years. The first thing I noticed was that I had balance that I hadn’t had before.”

To gain that strength he has been working on parallel bars and other equipment with a physiotherapist. Several months ago, he reached the point where he was almost ready to take his first tentative steps, but then suffered a devastating setback through complications with scar tissue on his right leg.

Refusing to give up, he has been back pushing himself to the limit with his physiotherapy. “I want to get back to the point I was at six months ago and take it from there,” he said. “The sky’s the limit.”

California-based Stemedica Cell Technology, the company expected to open a facility in Bermuda later this year, focuses solely on non-embryonic stem cell research.

Even so, Mr. Drover, a Bermuda College student from Hamilton Parish, is surprised at the apparent lack of opposition so far.

“I thought certain religious groups would definitely be against it,” he said. “It’s so taboo and there’s been so much of a deal in the US.”

When the news was announced earlier this month, Bishop of Bermuda Ewen Ratteray and Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Kurtz both welcomed it, as long as Stemedica steers clear of embryonic stem cells. Since then, The Royal Gazette has received a mixed reaction from readers. Ellen Coelho, from St. George’s, said: “Stem cell research is very, very good. I think it’s going to help cure a lot of things. As long as they stay away from embryos, I’m in favour.”

C. P. Loving, a non-Bermudian living on the Island, disagreed. He said: “It will be mass murder. They say they’re adult stem cells, but in order to have the stem cells, someone’s going to have to die. They have to answer to somebody. If not here, it will be later.”

I was reborn after stem cell treatment