Welcome to my blog

Hello and thank you for stopping by to read my blog. I would like to dedicate this blog as a story of hope and inspiration. The journey that I am about to embark on is to find a better place in my health so that I may be able to enjoy life with the highest quality of life possible. That is, the highest quality possible for someone who has been diagnosed with such an insidious disease such as MS.

The early part of this blog will be slow paced as my treatment date is still three months away. Until then I will be doing much to prepare for the treatment and will keep you up to date as much as possible. Please stop by periodically to check up with what is happening. Look forward to seeing you around (no I cannot really see you through your webcam, I am not the government after all!)

My journey is one that will take me to the other side of the world for a medical treatment that is unavailable to me in the US. Fortunately it is not a new, or experimental, treatment as its been around since the 1950's. It is called Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant, or HSCT as it is more easily called. I favor the easy way to pronounce it! Wonder if you are familiar with it, my guess is that you are. It is the treatment similarly used for Leukemia patients and is often referred to as Bone Marrow Transplant. So you now understand that it has been around for a long time, just not used for autoimmune diseases such as MS. Ironically in the 1990's it was found that when autoimmune patients also had blood cancers, and were treated with HSCT, it was found that their disease progression was halted after treatment. What an exciting find for patients like myself! There has been ongoing clinical trials since then to get approval for this treatment in the US. I applied for one such trial in Chicago, but was not accepted because of their strict criteria for patient acceptance. That has led me to look overseas for treatment. Lucky for me the internet allows us to research and find so much information about so many things. Its a great time for us to be alive! My decision has been made to seek treatment in Moscow, Russia with the world renowned physician Dr. Denis Federenko. He is affectionately called Dr. F. and has written several abstract about treating autoimmune diseases with HSCT. We have connected with several people who have been treated by Dr. F. and the feedback from them is stellar. Alicia and I have absolute confidence that I will be in very good hands during my stay in Moscow.

Alicia and I will being flying to Moscow at the end of April this year. My treatment is scheduled to begin on the 26th. This will be a journey like none other. Scary, yet exciting, and also hopeful. Hopeful in that I can maintain good quality of life for the duration of my time here on earth. I will have many of you readers to thank for that with your hugs, prayers, thoughts, well wishes, donations, and spiritual support. I can't thank you enough. There is no way this could ever happen without you. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, please accept my virtual hug, virtual handshake, or virtual pat on the back as you deserve it. Everyone of you has a special place in my heart. THANK YOU!!!