Greetings Friends and Family

I need your help. In 2012, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune degenerative disease that affects your nervous system. In the active form, the disease progresses because your immune system attacks the coating around your axons and it does so randomly. My disease began benignly with numbness on my back and dropping of my foot. All of my lesions were in my spine. This is not common and it took them a while to diagnose my disease. When I was diagnosed, which took about two years, there was no effective treatment available. I sought out any kind of treatment that would improve my symptoms. At the time in 2012 I didn't really have any visible symptoms and there was no way to tell what direction my disease would take. For several years I was OK but by 2019 I lost my ability to walk independently. By 2021 I lost my ability to stand and transfer to the toilet. During this time I was on the best and strongest medication available, Ocrevus. I had nine infusions over four years, but I am in the small fraction of people whose disease was stopped, but I kept getting worse. Now I am in my wheelchair full-time and my husband is my primary caregiver, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. At this point, I can't really do very much for myself. I can't cook, I can't dress myself, I can't write… The list goes on. What I can do is work which I continue to do.

Here is where you come in. I need a fulltime caregiver. My husband has been doing this job for over two years and it is frankly, too much for him. He needs to be able to work and take care of himself. Imagine asking your spouse or partner to help you go to the bathroom every time. It will wear someone down quickly. He is doing his best, but he needs a break. But caregiving is quite costly and if you are not in a nursing home, it is very difficult to both find someone to be a caregiver and find the funds to pay them. I am asking for your help in amassing enough funds so I could hire a caregiver for 30-40. hours a week..