LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)

Stem cell therapy saved the eyesight of a Fountain Valley mother, Julia Matsumoto.  Julia’s medical odyssey began in October 2010.

“I was 31 years old, and I had just a severe headache,” she said.

Matsumoto said her headache was the beginning of a terrifying ordeal.

“For some reason, Julia’s body was attacking itself and causing inflammation and damaging the nerve,” Dr. Larry Geisse said.

Matsumoto accepted losing her vision. She also lost her job and her health insurance.  But she didn’t lose her grip on Dr. Geisse, who continued to look for answers.

“She’s just that kind of person who touches your heart. The feeling you have is that you would do anything to get her better,” Geisse said.

Geisse learned of Dr. Mark Berman, a cosmetic surgeon in Beverly Hills who was testing stem cell therapy as an alternative to medication.

“With the stem cells we can at least keep her vision, and we’ve got her off the steroids completely, and that just in itself has been like, a miracle,” Geisse said.

After undergoing her stem cell treatment, Julia now reports “it’s wonderful to feel like a normal mother, being able to do every day motherly tasks.”

“I am forever grateful. It’s given me a new life,” she said.

Click the video link below to hear Julia’s incredible story of perseverance and how stem cells saved her eyesight.