- B
- S
Exactly one year ago our sister, Rach was diagnosed with MS. It was a terrifying time for our family leading up to and after the diagnosis. As a young, single mom with her entire life ahead of her, we worried about Rach and how this diagnosis would affect her future.
Her struggles to cope with the disease are magnified by the financial burden she now faces during this uncertain time of the Covid- 19 pandemic.
MS is an autoimmune disease that impacts people in very different ways. With Rach she has two main physical disabilities — extreme fatigue and a weak left leg. The fatigue has limited her ability to work full-time. The leg weakness has caused her to lose balance and fall, occasionally in public places. This is both physically debilitating but also extremely mentally challenging.
It is hard to put on a strong face and function normally when your body is losing its ability to do what its always done, and you are powerless to stop it. Stress exacerbates the situation and oftentimes Rach needs to raise her medication levels to cope. This increases her fatigue and prevents her from being able to drive. She must then take a taxi to get around which adds to her expenses and her exposure to COVID. It’s a vicious cycle that comes with a heavy cost, one that Rach and the family can’t bear for much longer.
There is however, a device available on the market that uses functional electrical stimulation (FES) technology that can help Rach for the long term. It is a technology that sends low-level electrical impulses to the fibular nerve that signals the leg muscles to help lift the foot. This device has been proven to help many people with MS walk with little to no complications. But at $10,000 plus maintenance costs, it’s a significant financial burden.
Rach has been able to trial the device and it has proven to be extremely beneficial. She can drive herself to work, shop at the supermarket, pick up her daughter from school and most importantly, feel good about herself.
These are simple things that we take for granted, but when they are taken away from us it is debilitating and demoralizing. Which is why we are trying to help raise money to buy Rach this device. Please consider helping us to purchasing this device. No one deserves it more than our sister!
Her struggles to cope with the disease are magnified by the financial burden she now faces during this uncertain time of the Covid- 19 pandemic.
MS is an autoimmune disease that impacts people in very different ways. With Rach she has two main physical disabilities — extreme fatigue and a weak left leg. The fatigue has limited her ability to work full-time. The leg weakness has caused her to lose balance and fall, occasionally in public places. This is both physically debilitating but also extremely mentally challenging.
It is hard to put on a strong face and function normally when your body is losing its ability to do what its always done, and you are powerless to stop it. Stress exacerbates the situation and oftentimes Rach needs to raise her medication levels to cope. This increases her fatigue and prevents her from being able to drive. She must then take a taxi to get around which adds to her expenses and her exposure to COVID. It’s a vicious cycle that comes with a heavy cost, one that Rach and the family can’t bear for much longer.
There is however, a device available on the market that uses functional electrical stimulation (FES) technology that can help Rach for the long term. It is a technology that sends low-level electrical impulses to the fibular nerve that signals the leg muscles to help lift the foot. This device has been proven to help many people with MS walk with little to no complications. But at $10,000 plus maintenance costs, it’s a significant financial burden.
Rach has been able to trial the device and it has proven to be extremely beneficial. She can drive herself to work, shop at the supermarket, pick up her daughter from school and most importantly, feel good about herself.
These are simple things that we take for granted, but when they are taken away from us it is debilitating and demoralizing. Which is why we are trying to help raise money to buy Rach this device. Please consider helping us to purchasing this device. No one deserves it more than our sister!
Co-organizers4
Rach Taman
Beneficiary