Taela's Stem Cell Treatment
Donation protected
In the last 3, very difficult months, Taela was diagnosed with Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID), which is a progressive immune disorder characterized by a reduction in all types of gamma globulins, including antibodies that help fight infection. This disorder quickly resulted in the worsening of her Chronic Fatigue, become a type which affects her immune system specifically; Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFID).
People often take their functioning immune systems for granted, but Taela no longer has this luxury. Essentially, her body doesn’t build antibodies properly to fight off viruses and bacteria, and this causes her to be constantly sick. The main treatment she has been undertaking is expensive infusions of human immunoglobulin (IVIG) every three weeks, which has already cost over $2000 in the last two months alone. However, due to the extreme adverse side effects Taela experiences from these infusions, she is suffering with an extreme and unhealthy amount of weight loss, which is also due to the many new and reoccurring allergies which have come back since her immune system has been so severely compromised.
Taela’s doctors have recommended that she try stem cell therapy in hope of repairing the damage caused by her autoimmune and degenerative condition, which would hopefully prevent much direr medical circumstances. Australia does not yet have these cutting-edge treatments available to patients, but Taela and her doctors have submitted an application to an exclusive stem cell treatment program in Florida, USA. She was thrilled to find out that she has been ACCEPTED into the program, as this could be her chance to have a normal life.
This treatment is done through the extraction of stem cells. As leaders in the field of regenerative medicine, this facility offers a new approach to stem cell therapy that utilizes one of the most potent and viable cell sources available, being allogeneic stem cell therapy. Rich in mesenchymal stem cells that help to repair multiple different cells, these stem cells are considered undifferentiated cells that have the ability to replicate many tissues of the body. The human placenta is rich with cells that can be used as a renewable source of cell replacement for various autoimmune and neurological
conditions.
Based on the research, records and reviews, Taela and her doctors are optimistic that this treatment truly could help improve her quality of life. Unfortunately, the treatment is expensive. The cost to receive this treatment is over $20,000 AUD, (not including any flights, accommodation, or other travel expenses), and is not covered at all by her health insurance.
We are trying to raise $30,000 to cover the costs of the treatment as well as flights and accommodation for the 2.5-3 weeks she has to be over in America.
With the potential to undertake this treatment, Taela has been doing her best to keep her chin up and hope for a better future. With infusions, she could live a limited life. She would be able to continue living on her own to some degree and do light infrequent work. However, when these treatments become unbearable or unsustainable, without these infusions every three weeks ongoing, Taela will inevitably decline. The thought of what this means is very difficult for me to put into words – not just the thought of her truly struggling day to day as she has been, but as someone with a chronic autoimmune disease myself, I know how quickly someone’s life can be in jeopardy, or really a life at all, as a consequence of a failing immune system.
I am hopeful for Taela, because I know that in today’s life, none of us have to stand alone to weather the storm, as we are all inherently linked, and the kindness of individuals can blow you away.
Still, asking for financial help is a very hard thing to do, and not something that Taela has taken lightly. She has allowed me to ask for your help, on her behalf, after much encouragement. Your donation could give her the gift of a quality life, instead of her just ‘existing’ and not ever really ‘living’, with her life at risk in the basic sense of the word as is.
This could mean the world to Taela, and all of her family and friends. As part of her “Taela Tribe”, I am so proud of the bravery and positivity she brings to her battle every day. Please consider donating, as any amount great or small could save her life.
People often take their functioning immune systems for granted, but Taela no longer has this luxury. Essentially, her body doesn’t build antibodies properly to fight off viruses and bacteria, and this causes her to be constantly sick. The main treatment she has been undertaking is expensive infusions of human immunoglobulin (IVIG) every three weeks, which has already cost over $2000 in the last two months alone. However, due to the extreme adverse side effects Taela experiences from these infusions, she is suffering with an extreme and unhealthy amount of weight loss, which is also due to the many new and reoccurring allergies which have come back since her immune system has been so severely compromised.
Taela’s doctors have recommended that she try stem cell therapy in hope of repairing the damage caused by her autoimmune and degenerative condition, which would hopefully prevent much direr medical circumstances. Australia does not yet have these cutting-edge treatments available to patients, but Taela and her doctors have submitted an application to an exclusive stem cell treatment program in Florida, USA. She was thrilled to find out that she has been ACCEPTED into the program, as this could be her chance to have a normal life.
This treatment is done through the extraction of stem cells. As leaders in the field of regenerative medicine, this facility offers a new approach to stem cell therapy that utilizes one of the most potent and viable cell sources available, being allogeneic stem cell therapy. Rich in mesenchymal stem cells that help to repair multiple different cells, these stem cells are considered undifferentiated cells that have the ability to replicate many tissues of the body. The human placenta is rich with cells that can be used as a renewable source of cell replacement for various autoimmune and neurological
conditions.
Based on the research, records and reviews, Taela and her doctors are optimistic that this treatment truly could help improve her quality of life. Unfortunately, the treatment is expensive. The cost to receive this treatment is over $20,000 AUD, (not including any flights, accommodation, or other travel expenses), and is not covered at all by her health insurance.
We are trying to raise $30,000 to cover the costs of the treatment as well as flights and accommodation for the 2.5-3 weeks she has to be over in America.
With the potential to undertake this treatment, Taela has been doing her best to keep her chin up and hope for a better future. With infusions, she could live a limited life. She would be able to continue living on her own to some degree and do light infrequent work. However, when these treatments become unbearable or unsustainable, without these infusions every three weeks ongoing, Taela will inevitably decline. The thought of what this means is very difficult for me to put into words – not just the thought of her truly struggling day to day as she has been, but as someone with a chronic autoimmune disease myself, I know how quickly someone’s life can be in jeopardy, or really a life at all, as a consequence of a failing immune system.
I am hopeful for Taela, because I know that in today’s life, none of us have to stand alone to weather the storm, as we are all inherently linked, and the kindness of individuals can blow you away.
Still, asking for financial help is a very hard thing to do, and not something that Taela has taken lightly. She has allowed me to ask for your help, on her behalf, after much encouragement. Your donation could give her the gift of a quality life, instead of her just ‘existing’ and not ever really ‘living’, with her life at risk in the basic sense of the word as is.
This could mean the world to Taela, and all of her family and friends. As part of her “Taela Tribe”, I am so proud of the bravery and positivity she brings to her battle every day. Please consider donating, as any amount great or small could save her life.
Organizer
Aleisha Robinson
Organizer
Springvale South VIC
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