Jamie's Fight Against MS

On February 14th 2019 Jamie Schmidt was diagnosed with Relapsing-Remitting MS (Multiple Sclerosis) after months of doctor's appointments trying to figure out why she was experiencing numbness, vertigo, memory loss and double vision.  The day she was diagnosed, it got so bad that her dad Wade needed to assist Jamie with walking into the hospital for her neurological appointment.  Luckily, she was able to get a MRI that day and within hours she was admitted to the hospital for five days.  Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic illness involving your central nervous system.  The immune system turns on itself and attacks the myelin sheath, which is the protective layer around nerve fibres.  This causes inflammation and scar tissue or lesions.  This can make it harder for your brain to send signals to the rest of your body.
     Three months before her diagnosis Jamie was a healthy, active and adventurous young adult.  She played soccer all her life and excelled on the field.  Jamie was an honour roll student all throughout high school and graduated with great distinction.  Along with her many accomplishments, Jamie loves travelling, fishing and hiking.  She has travelled to Mexico, Europe, Indonesia, and around Canada.  Jamie especially enjoys fishing at the family cabin, usually out fishing everyone due to her competitive nature .            
         In order to combat MS Jamie must receive an infusion of Tysabri every four weeks.  This drug is supposed to manage her symptoms.  Unfortunately, her symptoms continue to worsen with time.  Her speech is slower and she is in less control of her balance.  Jamie experiences many debilitating symptoms including a constant brain fog.  Since the day she was diagnosed, her parents have not stopped researching.  They have spent countless hours participating in seminars, reading articles and focusing time and energy.  They are incurring financial strain in order to engage with some of the top MS researchers in the world.                 Finally, as a family they have decided it is in her best interest to give Jamie the opportunity participate in a HSCT (Hematopoeitic Cell Transplantation) stem cell treatment that has been highly recommended by people who live with MS.  HSCT is a procedure that aims to reset the faulty immune system.  Hematopoietic stem cells are taken from your bone marrow or blood before your immune system is wiped out with chemotherapy.  
     A similar treatment is available in Canada, but they have stringent parameters and you must fail two frontline drugs for one year each before even being considered.  These drugs have many side effects and do not treat symptoms but treat the number of relapses only.  It has been said that the best time to fight this disease is in the early stages and while she is young.  Jamie will turn 21 years old this month.  From the start they wanted to battle this disease head-on with the MS clinic's recommendations and assistance in Saskatoon.  But now, after one and a half years, Jamie and her family are moving on to more aggressive treatments outside of mainstream medicine.  They are grateful for the dedication and guidance of the local medical community.  Jamie's family simply wants to do whatever they can to get her healthy again so she is able to live the best life possible.       
This aggressive HSCT treatment at the renowned Clinca Ruiz in Puebla Mexico will cost the family $75,000 CAD which does not include additional expenses such as flights or a MRI.  
   They are fortunate that her dad, Wade will be able to accompany Jamie as she will require a caregiver in Mexico for 28 days to complete this treatment.  We are hoping to raise funds for medical and travel expenses for this treatment.  Thank you in advance for all your generosity.