Help Yamila Beat MS
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I am starting this GoFundMe campaign for my best friend, Yamila Thompson, who is battling a very aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis. Her disease has quickly progressed to the point where she is no longer getting any benefit from traditional treatments and I am seeking to help her raise $20,000 to undergo stem cell treatment in Tampa, FL. Yamila has always been one of the strongest people I know and she has proven that time and time again as I watched her take on this constant battle for her life. I remember the day she called me and said she lost vision in one of her eyes. While this in itself was troubling, nothing prepared us for the diagnosis that she was stricken with the incurable and extremely debilitating Multiple Sclerosis. Since that day it has been one battle after another and I thank God for her strength and resilience but after undergoing countless treatments she is now unable to walk on her own and her veins are collapsing from the multiple infusions she has to undergo to stop the disease from taking over her major organs. As a mother of three, all she wants is to live long enough to see her kids grow up, but as her friend I would love nothing more than to see her regain the quality of life that she truly deserves but lost the day she got her diagnosis. All I want for my amazing friend, who is an outstanding mom, loving wife, devoted daughter, and absolutely beautiful human being, is for her to experience life fully without constantly being under attack by her own body. Witnessing her go through all of the different symptoms has been heart breaking. Watching her try to mask her pain for her children’s sake has been gut wrenching. Hearing the fear in her voice because her veins can no longer handle the only treatment that brings temporary relief, is unbearable. I am starting this campaign because she truly has an incredible appreciation for life even in her dire circumstances and I have to do all I can to help her live the best life she can live, for her and her family’s sake. Through her journey I have learned a lot about even my own strength and I want her to regain the feeling of truly living, and not simply existing. We are eternally grateful for all donations, prayers, and well wishes, and I will be updating this platform on Yamila’s behalf as we set forth to Kick some MS butt!
If you are not familiar with Multiple Sclerosis, here is the definition from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke:
What is Multiple Sclerosis?
An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, multiple sclerosis (MS) can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted. Many investigators believe MS to be an autoimmune disease -- one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, it is the nerve-insulating myelin that comes under assault. Such assaults may be linked to an unknown environmental trigger, perhaps a virus.
Most people experience their first symptoms of MS between the ages of 20 and 40; the initial symptom of MS is often blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye. Most MS patients experience muscle weakness in their extremities and difficulty with coordination and balance. These symptoms may be severe enough to impair walking or even standing. In the worst cases, MS can produce partial or complete paralysis. Most people with MS also exhibit paresthesias, transitory abnormal sensory feelings such as numbness, prickling, or "pins and needles" sensations. Some may also experience pain. Speech impediments, tremors, and dizziness are other frequent complaints. Occasionally, people with MS have hearing loss. Approximately half of all people with MS experience cognitive impairments such as difficulties with concentration, attention, memory, and poor judgment, but such symptoms are usually mild and are frequently overlooked. Depression is another common feature of MS.
Here is some information on Stem Cell Treatment, courtesy of Stemgenex:
Stem cell therapy is an intervention strategy that introduces new adult stem cells into damaged tissue in order to treat disease or injury. Many medical researchers believe that stem cell treatments have the potential to change the face of human disease and alleviate suffering. The ability of stem cells to self-renew and give rise to subsequent generations with variable degrees of differentiation capacities, offers significant potential for generation of tissues that can potentially replace diseases and damaged areas in the body, with minimal risk of rejection and side effects.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is widely believed to be an autoimmune condition – the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks, and subsequently damages, the ‘myelin sheath’ protecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This damage causes messages to and from the brain to be slowed, distorted or stopped altogether. This is what leads to the symptoms of MS.
Damage to the myelin sheath is believed to cause ‘relapses’, or MS attacks. In these attacks, symptoms flare up and last for anything from 24 hours to several months. Over time, if nerve fibers themselves become damaged, or destroyed completely, this can lead to ‘progression’ of the MS and an increase in disability.
This stem cell treatment is designed to target the myelin sheath by introducing adult mesenchymal stem cells past the blood brain barrier so they may differentiate into and repair the myelin sheath nerve cells. This process is called remyelination. Further, being that Multiple Sclerosis is an auto-immune condition, adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells have the ability to repair the immune system; keeping it from attacking itself. This process is referred to as immunomodulation. Through remyelination and immunomodulation, we hope to work toward improving the quality of lives of patients dealing with Multiple Sclerosis.
If you are not familiar with Multiple Sclerosis, here is the definition from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke:
What is Multiple Sclerosis?
An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, multiple sclerosis (MS) can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted. Many investigators believe MS to be an autoimmune disease -- one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, it is the nerve-insulating myelin that comes under assault. Such assaults may be linked to an unknown environmental trigger, perhaps a virus.
Most people experience their first symptoms of MS between the ages of 20 and 40; the initial symptom of MS is often blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye. Most MS patients experience muscle weakness in their extremities and difficulty with coordination and balance. These symptoms may be severe enough to impair walking or even standing. In the worst cases, MS can produce partial or complete paralysis. Most people with MS also exhibit paresthesias, transitory abnormal sensory feelings such as numbness, prickling, or "pins and needles" sensations. Some may also experience pain. Speech impediments, tremors, and dizziness are other frequent complaints. Occasionally, people with MS have hearing loss. Approximately half of all people with MS experience cognitive impairments such as difficulties with concentration, attention, memory, and poor judgment, but such symptoms are usually mild and are frequently overlooked. Depression is another common feature of MS.
Here is some information on Stem Cell Treatment, courtesy of Stemgenex:
Stem cell therapy is an intervention strategy that introduces new adult stem cells into damaged tissue in order to treat disease or injury. Many medical researchers believe that stem cell treatments have the potential to change the face of human disease and alleviate suffering. The ability of stem cells to self-renew and give rise to subsequent generations with variable degrees of differentiation capacities, offers significant potential for generation of tissues that can potentially replace diseases and damaged areas in the body, with minimal risk of rejection and side effects.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is widely believed to be an autoimmune condition – the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks, and subsequently damages, the ‘myelin sheath’ protecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This damage causes messages to and from the brain to be slowed, distorted or stopped altogether. This is what leads to the symptoms of MS.
Damage to the myelin sheath is believed to cause ‘relapses’, or MS attacks. In these attacks, symptoms flare up and last for anything from 24 hours to several months. Over time, if nerve fibers themselves become damaged, or destroyed completely, this can lead to ‘progression’ of the MS and an increase in disability.
This stem cell treatment is designed to target the myelin sheath by introducing adult mesenchymal stem cells past the blood brain barrier so they may differentiate into and repair the myelin sheath nerve cells. This process is called remyelination. Further, being that Multiple Sclerosis is an auto-immune condition, adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells have the ability to repair the immune system; keeping it from attacking itself. This process is referred to as immunomodulation. Through remyelination and immunomodulation, we hope to work toward improving the quality of lives of patients dealing with Multiple Sclerosis.
Organizer and beneficiary
Debra Winston
Organizer
Kissimmee, FL
Yamila Thompson
Beneficiary