Melinda can beat MS with your help
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Melinda a 33 year old mother of three wonderful children, whose ages range from 6 to 16, was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We need your help to pay for Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
(HSCT) treatment. HSCT treatment is an expermential treatment that has a 70% to 90% chance to put her MS into remission permently. By the grace of God, Melinda was invited to be evaluated in Chicago to see if she can receive this treatment.
MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s website:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves an immune-mediated process in which an abnormal response of the body’s immune system is directed against the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The exact antigen — or target that the immune cells are sensitized to attack — remains unknown, which is why MS is considered by many experts to be "immune-mediated" rather than "autoimmune."
What this means is that Melinda’s immune system is slowly destroying her central nervous system. There is no official “cure” for MS and the current drugs to treat MS are very expensive (can be over $10,000.00USD a month). These drugs are not guaranteed to stop MS or even slow it down and they have severe side effects.
Over time Melinda could become severely disabled; to the point where she could no longer care for herself. We learned she has MS in January, 2018.
On January 6, 2018 she started to notice her feet were going numb while at the movies. By Tuesday we were in the hospital because the numbness went all the way up to her chest. Melinda could not walk. We spent 10 days in the hospital where Melinda had to endure several tests including an invasive lumbar puncture (spinal tap) which led the doctors to conclude she had MS.
Thank God she is at home and can walk again (sometimes she needs to use her walker). It takes her a lot of effort and energy to walk. She cannot, at this time, walk much farther than about 600 feet without getting exhausted. Most, but not all, of her feeling returned to her limbs and she will need to start injecting herself with immune system modifying drugs 3 times a week. We still do not know if she will be able to tolerate the injections.
(HSCT) treatment. HSCT treatment is an expermential treatment that has a 70% to 90% chance to put her MS into remission permently. By the grace of God, Melinda was invited to be evaluated in Chicago to see if she can receive this treatment.
MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s website:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves an immune-mediated process in which an abnormal response of the body’s immune system is directed against the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The exact antigen — or target that the immune cells are sensitized to attack — remains unknown, which is why MS is considered by many experts to be "immune-mediated" rather than "autoimmune."
What this means is that Melinda’s immune system is slowly destroying her central nervous system. There is no official “cure” for MS and the current drugs to treat MS are very expensive (can be over $10,000.00USD a month). These drugs are not guaranteed to stop MS or even slow it down and they have severe side effects.
Over time Melinda could become severely disabled; to the point where she could no longer care for herself. We learned she has MS in January, 2018.
On January 6, 2018 she started to notice her feet were going numb while at the movies. By Tuesday we were in the hospital because the numbness went all the way up to her chest. Melinda could not walk. We spent 10 days in the hospital where Melinda had to endure several tests including an invasive lumbar puncture (spinal tap) which led the doctors to conclude she had MS.
Thank God she is at home and can walk again (sometimes she needs to use her walker). It takes her a lot of effort and energy to walk. She cannot, at this time, walk much farther than about 600 feet without getting exhausted. Most, but not all, of her feeling returned to her limbs and she will need to start injecting herself with immune system modifying drugs 3 times a week. We still do not know if she will be able to tolerate the injections.
Organizer
Mike Landon
Organizer
Bristow, OK
