Paul's Life Changing Journey to Mexico for HSCT

Hi, we’re a family from Melbourne, trying to get our brother Paul to Mexico for life-changing treatment for Multiple Sclerosis. Here is his story :

Paul was diagnosed with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis in January 2018 after a very long investigation.

Paul’s first obvious relapse appeared to be a hip injury that occurred while doing a CrossFit workout in September 2016. He kept training but noticed the strength in his left leg just wasn't returning, even after six months of rest. He consulted with countless practitioners and even an orthopaedic surgeon, trying to fix what we all thought was just a bad hip injury. When his hip MRI came back normal, it was clear that this was something more serious. After Paul’s fitness fell away, his more obvious neurological signs started to surface.

He experienced another relapse in January 2020 while working in Townsville as a Chiropractor. The vision in his left eye was suddenly blurred. He admitted himself to the hospital's emergency department and received Methylprednisone for three days to calm the inflamed optic nerve. After consulting with his Neurologist back in Melbourne, Paul knew right away he wanted the most effective treatment available - HSCT (Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant).

During the peak of covid, not knowing when travel would resume again, he started investigations into treatment in Russia and even started learning the language in preparation for when travel was a viable option

Now, 3 years later, Paul’s quality of life has deteriorated significantly. He now experiences ataxia (poor balance), severe weakness and fatigue - worse on the left side, extreme heat intolerance and spasticity. His mobility is severely impacted as it becomes hard to simply feel steady on his feet. He is currently working with a physiotherapist and exercise physiologist 4x weekly to help rehab his current deficits, but we know HSCT will give him the best chance of living a normal and productive life.

HSCT or Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant is currently the most effective treatment available for multiple sclerosis. It involves a course of chemotherapy to ablate the immune system, followed by giving your own stem cells back to your body to effectively reboot your immune system. The end result is an immune system that no longer recognises itself as foreign, effectively halting progression and in many cases reversing symptoms. It is widely regarded as being the closest thing we have to an MS cure.

HSCT is still considered experimental here in Australia and is currently only available in clinical trials. To be considered for trials here, treating neurologists usually want you to fail at least two drugs before considering you a candidate for HSCT. Although, through drug failure, you acrue more damage to your nervous system and increasing disability. General consensus among the MS community is that outcomes are always better for patients when HSCT is performed as soon as possible after diagnosis is made.

For obvious reasons, Russia is no longer an option, but incredibly, Paul has been accepted into the program in Mexico, due to begin on March 6. This is exciting news, as their treatment protocol and success rates are virtually identical!

Often with significant medical burdens, come significant financial burdens. As a family, we’re pooling together what we can to help Paul get the treatment he needs, but it has become clear that we can’t do it alone.

Thank you to our amazing friends and family for all of your support throughout Paul’s journey so far - we are eternally grateful for each of you.

With immeasurable thanks,

Bob & Toni, Ben & Bianca, Jason & Danielle, Lachlan & Simone, Paul & Joanna, John & Alessia.