Lisa’s Stem Cell treatment to stop her MS

This is Lisa’s MS story...
I was recently diagnosed with the most horrible and aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis, which will leave me permanently disabled as the years come. But there is hope! 

It all started with the tingling. We were on a road trip to California. It was an exhausting 15-hour drive, and the bottoms of my feet began to tingle. Pins and needles – constant. I turned this way and that, trying to loosen my legs, but to no avail.

Chalked it up to the long drive.

Weeks went by. The tingling persisted. So I saw my primary doctor. I must have pinched a nerve, she said. Go see the chiropractor to get straightened out, she said.

Off to the chiro. Turns out I was misaligned. He popped my back into place. Come back weekly, he said. It’ll take some time to get realigned and for the nerves to heal, he said.

So week after week, month after month, I religiously got realigned, hoping the tingling would subside. Months turned into years. And then I just stopped going. What was the point, anyway? The tingling never went away. If fact, it got worse. I just got use to it.

I was in the prime of my life. I had never been so healthy. Jogging four miles a day. Boot Camp.TRX. Zumba. Half-marathons. Nothing was going to stop me. I was in BEAST mode!!

But then the numbness started. Left leg. Stomach. Night and day. Like a heavy weight was placed on my leg. Tightness around my chest. Lower back pain.

I ignored it. No pain, no gain, right?

Six years passed. Acupuncture, physical therapy, sports medicine - I did whatever doctors recommended.

At my annual physical, my doctor noticed my frequent chiro visits on my charts. “You still have tingling?” he asked, perplexed. He immediately scheduled X-rays and MRIs.

The neurologist came in next. He then told me I’m in excellent physical shape. “Great!” I said, “So I have nothing to be worried about, then?”

He told me to sit down and call my mom.

He showed me the MRIs – 20 active lesions on my brain and 8 on my spinal cord. I was diagnosed with the most damaging form of MS – Primary Progressive (PPMS).

PPMS is the rarest form of MS, in which symptoms gradually get worse over time to the point of disability.

On the disability scale of 0-10, I’m about at a 2. It is still in the early stages. I don’t have any obvious signs of outward disability, but the tingling and numbness are worsening and slowly traveling up my body.

There is no cure for MS. My neurologist put me on disease-modifying drugs (DMTs), yet it is still progressing.

I thought this drug was my only option, until I learned about HSCT stem cell transplants.

HSCT is a treatment that restarts a new immune system. Chemotherapy is part of the treatment, as well as a removal of stem cells from your bone marrow or blood stream. After the stem cells scrubbed clean, they are reintroduced back into your system.

HSCT is performed throughout the world. As of today, HSCT has been shown effective to halt the underlying disease activity and progression in MS. While there are no guarantees, improvement or reversal of symptoms are often seen. And with an 80 percent success rate of halting the disease, it is in my favor to pursue this option.

But of course, it’s not that easy. While it should be standard treatment for anyone newly diagnosed with MS, it’s not covered by insurance as a first line of defense. Patients have to fail other disease-modifying drugs before approval. While waiting (upwards of 10 years), permanent, irreversible damage can take place. And if I do eventually get it, there’s no guarantee that I could get into any clinical trials.

I can’t wait 10 years.

Stem cell therapy performed earlier in the disease is universally more effective compared to transplanting later when there is a greater degree of irreversible disability. The objective is to stop the disease before there is a buildup of maximum permanent disability.

I began looking into treatment centers in different countries that offer this procedure through private pay. The best one I found - Clinica Ruiz in Puebla, Mexico.

Treatment date: July 6, 2020

It’s a one-month treatment that involves stem cell transplantation and chemotherapy. When I return to the states, I will be recuperating, rebuilding my cells and my body.

But it sure is going to cost me. It’s a $54K hit.

Understandably, the major hurdle for me now is to raise the funds to pay for such a sophisticated and complex medical procedure.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way.

I’m clearing out my savings, tapping into my 401k and refinancing my house. I’m doing whatever I can do to make this happen.

Any help with medical costs would be ever-so appreciated. Every dollar helps. Every share counts. I can’t wait to update you all with my MS journey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!