Halt Sam's MS with HSCT
Donation protected
A little bit about me...
I'm Sam and have been blessed with two beautiful girls and an amazing supportive husband. I was diagnosed with MS the year after my daughter was born.
You just don't ever think it will happen to you!
MS is a progressive disease which can attack at any time causing scarring on the brain and spinal chord. This can affect any part of your body causing a variety of unpredictable symptoms, from blindness, walking problems to speach and swallowing problems.
Our nerves have a protective sheath surrounding them called myelin and my body sees this as a foreign object to be attacked causing damage which can be temporary or permanent. Over time these attacks may have no remission leading to Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. There are NO current treatments in the UK for this aggressive form of MS.
Family days out...
A walk to the park...
Going wedding dress shopping with your daughter one day....
I don't take anything for granted and every day is a blessing as I don't know what the future holds.
All I hope for is to be is a happy healthy mother to my children and a happy (not grumpy) wife to my husband.
With my two girls as my inspiration
I have maintained a super healthy lifestyle since my diagnosis although I've always been fairly healthy. MS has continued to get in the way of living life to the full.
A recent relapse left me unable to walk. I lost function of my right arm and my speach was also affected and was forced to stop driving and working as a hairdresser.
I've had countless relapses and following a recent MRI scan I've learnt that I have highly active relapsing MS. Only last week the neurologist told me that there was a 85% chance I'd relapse again in the next few months. It was also suggested to come off my current medication as it has been inefficient in reducing relapses
and has left me with a vulnerably low white blood count.
I've almost exhausted all treatment options which is scary as I'm only 31 years old.
My neurologist has said that HSCT is showing positive results so far in halting the disease. However it is not redily avalible on the NHS and won't be for some years.
There are several hospitals around the world which have a lot of experience in using this treatment. They have treated patients with various types of MS and have seen results that are much more valuable than any of the current drug options.
The treatment is called Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy (HSCT) and is a very aggressive treatment. It is done by harvesting my own stem cells before using chemotherapy to kill off my existing immune system. My stem cells are then given back to me by transfusion to reboot my immune system without the memory of my MS. This has shown to be effective in 75-90% of those treated so far with my current form of MS (relapsing-remitting)
The cost of this will be in the approximately £50,000 which I hope to fundraise through the support of friends and family and other fundraising activities.
I do hope you feel you can help me in my efforts in stopping this progression and Help change my life for the better
Thank you so much for taking a little time to read my story... Sam
I'm Sam and have been blessed with two beautiful girls and an amazing supportive husband. I was diagnosed with MS the year after my daughter was born.
You just don't ever think it will happen to you!
MS is a progressive disease which can attack at any time causing scarring on the brain and spinal chord. This can affect any part of your body causing a variety of unpredictable symptoms, from blindness, walking problems to speach and swallowing problems.
Our nerves have a protective sheath surrounding them called myelin and my body sees this as a foreign object to be attacked causing damage which can be temporary or permanent. Over time these attacks may have no remission leading to Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. There are NO current treatments in the UK for this aggressive form of MS.
Family days out...
A walk to the park...
Going wedding dress shopping with your daughter one day....
I don't take anything for granted and every day is a blessing as I don't know what the future holds.
All I hope for is to be is a happy healthy mother to my children and a happy (not grumpy) wife to my husband.
With my two girls as my inspiration
I have maintained a super healthy lifestyle since my diagnosis although I've always been fairly healthy. MS has continued to get in the way of living life to the full.
A recent relapse left me unable to walk. I lost function of my right arm and my speach was also affected and was forced to stop driving and working as a hairdresser.
I've had countless relapses and following a recent MRI scan I've learnt that I have highly active relapsing MS. Only last week the neurologist told me that there was a 85% chance I'd relapse again in the next few months. It was also suggested to come off my current medication as it has been inefficient in reducing relapses
and has left me with a vulnerably low white blood count.
I've almost exhausted all treatment options which is scary as I'm only 31 years old.
My neurologist has said that HSCT is showing positive results so far in halting the disease. However it is not redily avalible on the NHS and won't be for some years.
There are several hospitals around the world which have a lot of experience in using this treatment. They have treated patients with various types of MS and have seen results that are much more valuable than any of the current drug options.
The treatment is called Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy (HSCT) and is a very aggressive treatment. It is done by harvesting my own stem cells before using chemotherapy to kill off my existing immune system. My stem cells are then given back to me by transfusion to reboot my immune system without the memory of my MS. This has shown to be effective in 75-90% of those treated so far with my current form of MS (relapsing-remitting)
The cost of this will be in the approximately £50,000 which I hope to fundraise through the support of friends and family and other fundraising activities.
I do hope you feel you can help me in my efforts in stopping this progression and Help change my life for the better
Thank you so much for taking a little time to read my story... Sam
Organizer
Samantha Stevens
Organizer
