Help Margaret walk again

Margaret has a dream.

At 56, Margaret has the knee of a decrepit 75 year old woman.

Torn cartilage and subsequent surgery has left her with chronic pain and limited mobility. In short, her knee doesn't work; she walks with a clawed cane and a brace.

A plant-whisperer, expert and life-long student of horticulture, Margaret had to give up her gardening business. She's taken a very low-paying desk job. She can't hike, bike or do most of the activities that she loved, kept her healthy, peaceful and close to nature.

Even basic life tasks we take for granted are difficult for Margaret, like driving, doing a load of laundry, or shopping for groceries. And her disability takes an emotional toll, often leaving her feeling exhausted, depressed and defeated.

But Margaret has pit bull tenacity!

On her off hours, she researched extensively. She changed her diet. She consulted with myriad specialists. She learned a knee replacement would be a short lived, inadequate solution that can't take care of everything wrong with her knee.

And she found a promising solution: Adipose-derived stem cell treatment, which rebuilds cartilage and bone. It's the best treatment for women after menopause, the least invasive and the longest-lasting way to have Margaret walk freely again, with little or no pain.

And this would profoundly change her life.

This treatment will be widely available by 2025, but right now it's not approved in the U.S. until two clinical trials are completed. (Margaret can't participate in the Stanford study given her specific injury, and she's #85 on the waiting list for the Mayo Clinic study.)

How much does it cost?

The closest and cheapest treatment would be in Freeport, Bahamas. The cost is a whopping $25-30,000. This would ordinarily be out of the question for someone in Margaret's position, available only to the wealthy.