Help Svetlana in battle with MS
Life is a funny thing. Sometime we do not think how much we were given.
Imagine yourself at age of 26, making meal for friends, when suddenly your vision goes away in one of eyes. Imagine panic and confusion you would have when it doesnt come back. And then doctors would toss you around, and ... then they will tell you you got Multiple Sclerosis (MS). And you are ONLY 26 years old!
MS is a disease that makes you suffer in silence. It’s a slow progression, one day you can practice yoga, the next morning you can’t even get out of bed. Sometime pain is only thing around you, blinding, crippling, pushing you down. There are few forms of this disease, but they all have same end result.
Terminal.
And younger you are, faster it progresses. Some older folks getting diagnosed around 60-70 and pushing 90s now. People who diagnosed around 20s - rarely live past 30.
But Svetlana didnt give up. She is a born fighter, she threw herself at the researching about MS, created one of the most popular MS support sites and helped others.
9 long years battle continues. 9 long years, sometime going to wheel chair, sometime going with cane, sometime just walking slowly - she lives, she fights. Every step. Every day. We, her family, helping her as much we could, but most importantly she has amazing inner strength that keeps her moving, working and not complaining how hard it is for her, how horrible her days are.
Her life became series of visits to doctors, MRI scans, trials with various medical solutions that should help stabilize MS patient.
Alas, 9 years in, every single existing medical solution is exhausted and nothing helped. She starting to detiorate more rapidly than ever before and 10 more active lesions now show up on latest MRI. She shouldnt even be able to move. Yet - she does fight on. But ghost of wheelchair is more and more materializing in front of us through past two years.
Our youngest is 7 years old now, and , bearing with typical MS lifespan prediction she wont see him graduate.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a
relatively new procedure for MS patients. We started doing research, asking ,applying everywhere. Two places accepted her application - facility in Russia and facility in Chicaco. Both are not free, one is 45K USD and travelling overseas, another is 125K USD (and place where her family can come and visit her). Given recent progression of the disease doctors recommend to do HSCT as soon as possible, but money is where it all stops, as such amount is beyound our pockets for now .
If you got something to spare to help Lana to get procedure done so she can see her grandkids , please donate to this cause. If you stranded - just send Lana smile and a good thought. She can use them too.
Thank you.
