Nikita's HSCT Journey

Hi, my names Nikita. I am 23 years old and in January 2015 I was officially diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS).

For those that don't know much about Multiple Sclerosis (MS), it is a lifelong condition that affects the nerves, spinal cord and the brain. My own immune system mistakenly attacks the fatty substance that coats and protects my nerve fibres, know as the myelin sheath, causing damage and destroying them.

When the myelin is damaged by my immune system, it causes a relapse. This can mean anything from loss of vision, speech, mobility and sensation as well as having many other devastating affects. Once the myelin has been damaged beyond the point of my body repairing itself, it then becomes a permanent disability.

Although I was diagnosed in 2015, I have been suffering from this disease since 2012. This is when my first episode occurred and I lost my vision, speech and my ability to walk. Thankfully, my body was at a stage where it could repair itself and I recovered.

I am fortunate enough to have had almost 10 'good' years of MS but after trying different medications and Disease Modifying Drugs (DMD's) my MS is starting to progress.

We have been doing a lot of research on what our next steps should be, when we came across a treatment called Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT). This is an intense 28 day chemotherapy treatment that aims to stop the progression and damage of MS by wiping out and then re-growing my immune system, using stem cells from my bone marrow.

There are other treatments available, however where all other treatments aim to slow down the progression of the disease, HSCT aims to halt the progression completely and allow me to live a normal, healthy life.

I do not qualify for this treatment on the NHS as I must been seen failing a long list of other DMDs as well as having MS for under 10 years. As I am coming up to my 10 year mark soon, this is not something that can be done. I also do not want to wait for my disease to progress and worsen to the point of permanent disability that cannot be reversed.

After a lot of research and discussion with my team here and many other people who have had this treatment, I am looking to go privately to Clinica Ruiz in Mexico. The treatment alone costs $54,500 and this does not cover the travel to Mexico and back or the medical care I will need when I arrive back to the UK to ensure my body is recovering from this hard hitting treatment.

I would not normally ask for help with these things, but due to the progression of my MS we are running out of time. Please don't think we have come to this decision lightly as it is an aggressive treatment that comes with it's own risks.

The funds for this need to be paid in full by 28.01.22 in order for the treatment to go ahead as planned on 28.03.22.

Thank you so much if you have read this far and any donation made is greatly appreciated to help me to fight this disease!