EXETER One crisp autumn day nearly nine years ago, Bryan Dan Bomboy was helping a 90-year-old woman by cleaning her rain gutters when he slipped on a piece of moss on her roof and fell, landing on his head.

Bomboy, of Exeter, was flown to Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, where he was put on life support, flat lined several times and, after coming out of a coma, was told he would never again move anything except for his eyes.

Some intense physical therapy enabled him to regain some movement in his left arm. But that was the most progress Bomboy, now 50, made until last October, when he flew to California and received stem cell injections.

Im moving my right arm now for the first time in seven years. I can rub my eye or scratch an itch, I can swat away a fly. You cant imagine eight and a half years of not being able to do those things, Bomboy said.

Bomboy received his first round of injections at the California Stem Cell Treatment Center on Oct. 17, 2012. Stem cells were taken from his back in the love handles area and injected into his spine at his neck and lower back.

Bomboy was injected with his own stem cells, becoming the first quadriplegic to receive this treatment. His doctors were skeptical about the potential for success but are amazed by his progress, he said.

In addition to the doctors at the treatment center, Bomboy expressed gratitude to Tom Swartwood and Georgia Cwynski, his occupational therapists; Daria Palka, his nurse; and his family and friends for their prayers and support.

Swartwood, Bomboys occupational therapist for the last three years, was amazed at his progress. Its been nothing short of remarkable, he said. This is really plowing new ground.

One of the most immediate benefits of the therapy that Swartwood noticed was Bomboys improved ability to retain body heat. This guy used to be bundled up all the time. That changed immediately. Today, hes wearing a t-shirt and has a fan blowing on him.

Bomboy still doesnt have any movement in his fingers or below his chest, but he hopes another trip to California will change that.

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Rare stem cell therapy aids area man