Taeja's MS Battle

The things you take for granted, like hugging your child after work, are the things Taeja is fighting for right now because Multiple Sclerosis has taken over her life. She has fought for our country and now she is fighting for the chance to walk her daughter to her first day of kindergarten. Taeja knows that as long as this disease is overpowering her, she will never be able to be the mom she knows she can be. She wants the opportunity to be there to see her daughter grow up.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kaci. Please take a minute to read this story and help if you can, every dollar counts. Even if all you can do is share Taeja’s story, it means more to us then you will ever know.

 

Taeja’s Story:

 

Taeja is a 23 year-old military veteran, a mother to a beautiful one year-old girl, a loving and caring friend and an inspiration to everyone that is lucky enough to know her.  She was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) in 2013 at which point she lost her military career and started aggressive treatment to beat this terrible disease. She found that no matter how hard she fought the medications weren’t working and with every MRI there was further progression of the disease. Instead of getting down and discourage she kept her head up and kept fighting.  After several Tysabri Infusions, her doctors finally thought they had a medication that was going to work for her, until blood work showed she would soon become a mother. At this point her pregnancy put her into remission and after having her beautiful little girl she was able to spend time with her with no symptoms, unfortunately it only lasted three months. A treatment, Tysabri, was started again but new lesions continued to form. At this point her MS is so aggressive she has no other treatment options and her doctors predict she will be wheel chair bound within a few months. There is a trial treatment in Illinois that Taeja was accepted to for one last chance of being able to play with her daughter and continue a “normal” 23 year-old life.   

 

Why we need to get Taeja to Chicago:

 

After a lot of research, Taeja found a treatment that seemed perfect for her; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation or HSCT. She submitted her medical records and was accepted to go to Chicago to meet with Dr. Burt and see if she was a good candidate for HSCT at which point she was accepted on the spot due to how aggressive her MS is. After the evaluation her prior authorizations were sent to her insurance and on December 24, 2015 Christmas came a little early for her when she received a call from the insurance company that they agreed to accept the treatment. At this point she waited for Dr. Burt’s office to call and set dates for her transplant and go over finances and that’s when she felt her dreams to be able to take back her life from MS were just that, dreams. Taeja had once told me that, “I just want to be able to come home from work one day and have Layla run up to me without the constant worry about how much pain I would be in if Layla touched me.”  

The total fee needed just to set up her transplant dates that would need to be paid up front is $62,500.00. At this point, for the first time in her life she was discouraged and ready to give up. She never asks for help, she is the strongest person I know. She always has a smile on her face and the most positive attitude towards everything but the amount to schedule treatment seems unreal especially because she is already drowning in medical bills from all her previous treatments and that does not include travel costs to and from Chicago, hotel stays while she is there, missing anywhere from 6-8 months of work and continuing to provide for her daughter. 

Any contribution that you can make helps, even if it is just sharing her story. Our goal is to get the word out and let the world hear Taeja's story. Thank you from Taeja's family to yours.