Rhommy's Stem Cell Transplant

Hi there!

Everyone likes to say that their mom is the best... but mine is. She raised my 3 siblings & me to always believe in ourselves and go after whatever our hearts desired... even if that meant spending a summer in South America alone or moving to a state thousands of miles away. My mom, Rhommy, has always been the sweetest, most loving and most caring woman you will ever meet...

A few years ago, she developed back problems... typical of aging and nothing we initially worried about. The sometimes painful outings turned into limping, which then turned into drop-foot, which then caused extreme fatigue just getting out of bed to walk to the bathroom every night. After many doctor visits and consultations, she underwent back surgery which fused a degenerative disc. What we all thought would be an answer to her problems turned out to make everything worse...

She began to lose the feeling in her foot which progressed its way up her leg and even into her spine. After working with a physical therapist turned close friend who convinced her to go to a neurologist who ran several more tests, we came to find out she should have been diagnosed with neurosarcoidosis from the beginning.

For those who don't know what that disease is, it causes damage to the lining of the nerves in the spine. It is an extremely rare autoimmune disease that very few people currently have. There is no cure... but there are ways to prevent it from progressing. Yes, that sounds like good news, but my mom can't ride a bike, gets tired after a few hours on her feet, can't walk without a cane, and is too young to fear dropping her future grandkids because of this disease.

We are constantly approached with suggestions for new doctors to speak to and things to try... which we are always open to. Most recently, though, a doctor in Mexico visited her to see if she could be a candidate for a stem cell transplant. This procedure won't cure her, but it has been known to reverse severe damage in other patients with similar issues. The doctor truly believes it can help my mom regain some of the lost mobility in her foot and leg... so we need some help in giving her any chance she can get at healing.

The procedure isn't covered by insurance, so it is entirely out of pocket and requires her to spend a week in recovery. I'm not asking you to donate everything you have to this... but any little bit will help.

Please help my mom get a second chance at a full life... her 51st birthday just passed. She's incredibly young to spend the rest of her life unable to walk alone.