HSCT treatment for Mutiple Sclerosis

Hi everyone,

My name is André Ruivo, I'm 47 years old.

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2015.

Back in the beginning of the decade, I used to be an active member of the community, I would enjoy life and family, and I loved to play music with my friends. Suddenly, I started having occasional symptoms that I couldn't explain, and I kept brushing off the tingling fingers, occasional loss of balance, difficulty in positioning my feet, etc. Suddenly, it started being extremely hard to play the guitar. I used to enjoy so much to materialize what I felt using my heart in music, and I can no longer do it... ...but it didn't end there, unfortunately.

Since then my condition worsened so fast that I can't really move anymore without a wheelchair, and I can barely stand up, even with the help of crutches. I lost cognitive abilities as well, making my previous professional career grind to a stop, and I kept having a frustrating

My only hope for surviving this ordeal is to stop the seemingly relentless progression of my condition, and for that goal, there's only one possible treatment.

It is called HSCT (hematopoietic stem cell transplantation), which essentially is a complete destruction of my malfunctioning immunitary system, through an intense chemotherapy treatment under controlled conditions.

This has the objective of eliminating and posteriorly regrowing the immunitary system using a culture of my own stem cells regrown in a lab, which is an expensive and laborious procedure.

It will also be hard to retrain my immunitary system in the following months/years, running the risk of infection, but I have no alternative but to go through with it, because my current condition will ultimately lead me to loss of abilities, and ultimately, death.

I've got two children. A girl with 14 and a boy with 10, who are witnessing the continuous degradation of my condition.

They still need me and for me it is becoming harder to keep up and be present so that I can see them grow, show them how much I love them and to be there like all parents should be.

Last year my condition progressed so much that I can't help being afraid of my future and my children's future without a reference for a father.

How will it be in the end? It is too soon.

I love my children and my girlfriend, my close and far family and life so much, that I need to

It would be so If I could only be able to stop this. If I can get a bit better that's a big plus.

But for that i need to do the HSCT treatment.

That is my only hope.

Só i need help, as the treatment is so expensive.

My girlfriend is the love of my life and she also supports me everyday in this fight.