Updated

Thanks to a reinfusion of cord blood stem cells, a little girl has recovered from a critical brain injury, fox2now reported.

When Sparrow Morris, from Pineville, Mo., fell into the family’s swimming pool, she was left unconscious and without oxygen for 45 minutes, causing severe brain damage, according to the TV station. She was left in a vegetative state and couldn’t sit or speak.

Related: Cord blood cures baby’s grapefruit-sized tumor

“She had a contorted body,” said Tonya Morris, Sparrow’s mother.

[pullquote]

More On This...

The Morris’, who have 8 children, decided to bank their fifth child’s cord blood – Sparrow – but didn’t think they’d ever need to use it.

Fifteen months after Sparrow’s injury, doctors reinfused the cord blood into Sparrow as part of a trial at Duke University.

Morris said she noticed a difference in her daughter the next day.

“She was excited, walking better . . .she spontaneously started talking to me,” Morris told fox2now. “We didn’t think we’d ever have to use (the cord blood). We just saw the value in it and decided it was money well-spent.”

Doctors are discovering that cord blood can have a positive effect on all kinds of medical conditions – from cancer to cerebral palsy to hearing loss. Click here to learn more about the benefits of storing your child’s cord blood.

Click here to read more on this story from fox2now.