Help Nathaniel treat his 4 auto-immune conditions!

Hi!

I am reaching out to you today in an effort to raise much needed funds for my brother Nathaniel Baldock, who is in desperate need of special medical intervention for his multiple autoimmune diseases.

We are hoping to raise enough to be able to send him to a specialist clinic that offers several innovative treatments specifically targetting auto-immune conditions to help him be able to cope better moving forward to improve his quality of life and prognosis.

As his older sister and a nutritional therapist, I have watched him face many health challenges over the years, with lots of strength and resilience, but he is reaching the point where he needs this extra medical intervention in order to be able to keep on going in a health way.

Nathaniel and his wife Alicia have dedicated their lives to serving others as self-funded missionaries with the University of the Nations (YWAM) for the past 20 and 18 years, respectively. They are a beautiful team and have built a wonderful family together, with two young boys and a new baby girl born just this March in New Zealand.

Nathaniel is passionately committed to his work and family, and he is planning to complete his master's degree in vocations, spheres of society, and worldview to further enhance his ability and effectiveness in his work with others.

However, over the past several years, Nathaniel has developed four serious autoimmune conditions that have greatly impacted his health and quality of life. It began with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which affects energy levels, weight, sleep, neurological function, and muscles. Then, he developed sudden-onset Sarcoidosis, an autoimmune inflammatory disease that has affected the lymphatic system around his lungs leading to asthma like symptoms and lots of inflammation.

The steroid treatment he was given to treat his Sarcoidosis led to the development of Type 1 Diabetes - a 1 in a million chance according to the doctor! Type 1 Diabetes is a complex auto-immune condition that requires constant glucose monitoring and daily insulin injections.

Nathaniel has also been dealing with Alopecia, an autoimmune hair loss condition that has caused bald patches in his hair and beard, and has been more recently developing painful arthritis in his joints, signalling a worsening of his underlying autoimmune issues.

Thats already 4 auto-immune conditions and he is only 40 yrs old!

Recent medical research suggests that autoimmune diseases can often be triggered by underlying infectious diseases, which is a likely possibility given Nathaniel's history of volunteering in remote and isolated communities in the past.

Unfortunately so far, conventional medicine has not been able to address the root causes of his conditions, focusing instead on treating symptoms as they arise, which has failed to prevent the progression of disease.

Managing all of these conditions, and specifically diabetes while travelling and living overseas as a missionary family has been incredibly challenging and costly, and it has been difficult without consistent quality of medical care in each place.

Despite these significant health challenges, Nathaniel has remained a trooper, pushing through difficulties with a positive attitude and doing his best to manage.

However, as a nutritional therapist, I know that without a serious medical intervention soon, Nathaniel's health will continue to deteriorate, and his life expectancy will be impacted.

He needs a radical and miraculous intervention to halt the progression of these autoimmune diseases and improve his long-term health and prognosis and enable him to live life to the fullest.

We have found a great specialist medical centre that specialises in treating autoimmune diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases, with a particular focus on thyroid disorders and Type 1 Diabetes.

They offer cutting-edge, medically researched therapies including stem cell therapy, immunotherapy, peptide therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, among other things. Many patients have reported significant improvements in their health after seeking treatment at this centre when other conventional methods have not worked.

To receive the necessary treatment, Nathaniel would need to undergo two full weeks of 24/7 in-patient care at the medical centre, which would cost $13,000 USD.

As self-funded missionaries, this expense is way beyond Nathaniel and Alicia's financial capacity and even with all of our immediate family pitching in what we can, we would be unable to cover the costs on our own, which is why we are turning to friends and wider family and everyone else who loves him for help as well.

We think he is worth it, would you be willing to help us contribute to Nathaniel's potentially life-saving and preventative treatment?

Every donation, no matter the size, would bring him closer to the goal of getting to the specialist centre between July and September this year, while Alicia and the children are able to stay with her family in Canada.

We are hoping to raise 18,000USD - 5,000USD more than the cost of the in-centre treatment, so that we can also help to cover their flights as well. There's no point covering the costs of the treatment if we can't actually get him there!

Any extra raised over and above this amount will go towards their living expenses during that time, as they are self funded volunteers reliant on the generous support of friends and family.

Thanks so much for your generosity and for helping to give Nathaniel the chance to regain his health and continue to be able to function more healthily in his job and family life going forward!