Heidi's Hope - MS Fight Fund

My name is Heidi Marie Stieber. I live with MS.

Multiple Sclerosis is a nasty progressive disease that slowly takes your life. It attacks your central nervous system - which controls everything and anything that makes you - you. Vision, thinking, emotions, movement, bodily functions - all impacted, all damaged.
This chemo/stem cell transplant treatment, which insurance does not cover, will halt the progression and give my body a chance...give me a chance to get my life back. 

Short Version...

I've lived with MS for almost 15 years - and I have tried to live fully & do good. But MS is a progressive disease that attacks my central nervous system. It is getting worse, that's the nature of the disease, and I want to stop it before it causes any more disability. 

I have that chance with a treatment called HSCT. It is a combination of aggressive chemo and a transplant of my own stem cells that basically reboots/rebuilds my entire immune system. It is not covered by insurance yet - and isn't expected to be until 2023. I can't wait until then and let this disease take more from me. 

I have hope & now I need your help. I have been accepted for treatment June 19th & need to have payment in by April 19th. I have faith that we can do this. 

Please give and please share.  Please fight along with me. 


Longer Version...if you want more details!

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) almost 15 years ago.   April 18th, 2002 to be exact, I remember the date well.

For more than 12 years, I managed fairly well. I say fairly well, but during this time I lost my vision for a few weeks and had to have a steroid injection under my eyelid (yes, really). I had numbness and nerve pain in various parts of my body, serious balance issues, and at one point, my right arm stopped working.  

My MS would come and go. I would get “breaks” from attacks and would have a chance to heal (like regaining my vision and use of my right arm) and recover some of the disability the attacks caused.

The medical profession has yet to determine what exactly causes MS.

It is progressive – meaning it will only get worse.
Mine has.

Over the last 3 years, my MS has continued to progress. I am having fewer and fewer “breaks” and more continuous attacks and symptoms. I could list a long list of my symptoms, but here are just a few I have right now (it’s hard to put some of these in writing):
·         Difficulty walking due to muscle tightness/spasms around my hips,
·         Muscle spasms and nerve pain in my left leg and foot (makes my muscles like rocks),
·         Very poor balance (I stumble into walls fairly often),
·         Serious bladder control issues (beyond the regular I’m getting to be a woman of a certain age issues), and
·         Bowel issues (I saved the best for last). 

I’ve tried countless drugs, often with horrendous side effects, but they did not work and even then, those drugs can only slow progression. No current drug stops MS.

BUT - I now have a chance to halt the progression of my MS through a treatment called HSCT.

I have HOPE.

HSCT or Hematopioetic Stem Cell Transplant, is the only existing scientifically proven treatment, currently available that completely halts disease progression of Multiple Sclerosis.

The transplant uses my own stem cells, which are collected and stored, to rebuild my immune system.
This is done after my existing immune system is destroyed through high doses of aggressive chemotherapy. It's the stuff of science fiction, giving me hope today!

It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

I have been accepted for treatment on June 19th – just 4 months. I have to have payment for the treatment 2 months prior to that date – by April 19th. Just after my 15 year anniversary of being diagnosed. 

I need to raise $70,000.

The treatment alone costs $55,000 and is not covered by my insurance. I also need to travel to the clinic and stay for a month – along with a caregiver for the entire time.

Recovery will take at least a year and I will not be able to work. I will not be able to even go out for several months post treatment (my immune system won’t be strong enough), except for medical appointments and even then I have to wear a heavy duty mask.

So the additional funds will cover travel and living expenses during treatment for both me and a caregiver, post-HSCT doctor visits, medicines, and medical supplies (many that will not be covered by insurance), and recovery expenses.

Also - the treatment is in Mexico. Why go to Mexico?

After months of trying, I was rejected by the only treatment center in the USA. I have had MS for “too long” and my MS is “too progressive”. Well, ok.

I will be going to Clinica Ruiz. This facility is currently the top HSCT treatment facility in the world. Dr. Guillermo Ruiz-Arguelles  has been treating MS patients through stem cell transplants for many years at Clinica Ruiz in Puebla, Mexico, about 80 miles southeast of Mexico City. He is a distinguished alumnus of the Mayo Clinic, a highly regarded U.S. medical institution.

My neurologist and family doctor are both fully onboard with HSCT (which is a blessing).

The sooner I get treatment, the better.

Please help me raise these funds quickly, so I can go for treatment in June and make 2017 my last year with MS. 

I finally have hope.  Now, I need your help. 

Thank you with all my heart.