Mark's MS Annihilation Mission
Donation protected
I knew there was something wrong, weakness down my left hand side, constant dizziness and balance problems, my ability to speak would just desert me, walking like I’d been on the Special Brew and the tiredness, god the tiredness! I used to go to the gym but my energy levels were so low, the weights I used to be able to lift just reduced and reduced, I'd go on the exercise bike for less and less time as I didn't have the energy that I seemed to have just weeks before, and when I staggered to the changing room, my vision would go, I couldn't focus on anything and a mist seemed to descend over my eyes. My job was as a Driving Instructor but the dizziness and the sporadic inability to speak coupled with a spinal problem that eventually needed surgery, meant my occupation was impossible.
"It's Multiple Sclerosis" said the Doctor. I had had my suspicions as my family had a small history of the disease. But it was still a shock, maybe more so for my wonderful wife Emma who had no idea what was going to suddenly spring from the Doctors mouth. She still says I should have said something to her but you don't want to think the worse do you? I was 38 years old with a mortgage, a wife and 2 young boys.
"Don't worry Mark" people said "They can do so much for MS nowadays" Great!
"It's Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis" Said the neurology consultant. So no drugs would help. They'd monitor things, see me every six months but that seemed about it. Great.....
It really is a brutal disease, I can't work, I can't play with the kids, any exertion makes my symptoms worse, heat makes things worse too. I was never the greatest raconteur but it's nice to get your point across now and again! but that's out the window now, with the simplest words being so hard to form, to the point where my wife has to make phonecalls for me, thankfully she doesn't complain! People who don't know about my condition must think I'm being aloof or off-handish when I don't talk much at all. It's so frustrating! I've even had people cross the road when they see this bloke, who appears to be drunk, lumbering and staggering up the road towards them. I think i'd cross the road too!
I joined all the social network groups and stumbled across a group on Facebook for something called HSCT (Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation).This was like being dropped in the middle of the ocean and thinking "Well that's it then".....and then suddenly seeing a lifeboat not so far away. So that's what I am doing now, swimming for that lifeboat, swimming for my family, swimming for my life. Basically what this treatment entails is harvesting my stem cells, then destroying my immune system with chemotherapy. Then you put my stem cells back in. So then it's like a computer reboot to a time before my MS! I have to go abroad though, hopefully next year, to where other sufferers have successfully gone, to either Russia or Mexico where this treatment is a lot more common.... and it's expensive! I'm asking for £45,000. The treatment itself is $50,000 in Russia and $54,500 in Mexico, followed by follow-up treatment when I return to the UK. Anything left over I plan to donate to the next person campaigning to go abroad for HSCT. It's a hellish amount, but it's my only hope. Thank you so much for any donations, with your help I'll make that lifeboat!
"It's Multiple Sclerosis" said the Doctor. I had had my suspicions as my family had a small history of the disease. But it was still a shock, maybe more so for my wonderful wife Emma who had no idea what was going to suddenly spring from the Doctors mouth. She still says I should have said something to her but you don't want to think the worse do you? I was 38 years old with a mortgage, a wife and 2 young boys.
"Don't worry Mark" people said "They can do so much for MS nowadays" Great!
"It's Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis" Said the neurology consultant. So no drugs would help. They'd monitor things, see me every six months but that seemed about it. Great.....
It really is a brutal disease, I can't work, I can't play with the kids, any exertion makes my symptoms worse, heat makes things worse too. I was never the greatest raconteur but it's nice to get your point across now and again! but that's out the window now, with the simplest words being so hard to form, to the point where my wife has to make phonecalls for me, thankfully she doesn't complain! People who don't know about my condition must think I'm being aloof or off-handish when I don't talk much at all. It's so frustrating! I've even had people cross the road when they see this bloke, who appears to be drunk, lumbering and staggering up the road towards them. I think i'd cross the road too!
I joined all the social network groups and stumbled across a group on Facebook for something called HSCT (Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation).This was like being dropped in the middle of the ocean and thinking "Well that's it then".....and then suddenly seeing a lifeboat not so far away. So that's what I am doing now, swimming for that lifeboat, swimming for my family, swimming for my life. Basically what this treatment entails is harvesting my stem cells, then destroying my immune system with chemotherapy. Then you put my stem cells back in. So then it's like a computer reboot to a time before my MS! I have to go abroad though, hopefully next year, to where other sufferers have successfully gone, to either Russia or Mexico where this treatment is a lot more common.... and it's expensive! I'm asking for £45,000. The treatment itself is $50,000 in Russia and $54,500 in Mexico, followed by follow-up treatment when I return to the UK. Anything left over I plan to donate to the next person campaigning to go abroad for HSCT. It's a hellish amount, but it's my only hope. Thank you so much for any donations, with your help I'll make that lifeboat!
Organizer
Mark Fitchett
Organizer
