Help support Laura Bateman in her fight to beat Multiple Sclerosis

"Its ok to be scared; Being scared means your about to do something really, really brave”

It was early 2013 when Laura lost the feeling in her left arm. Next came the partial loss of eyesight and shooting sensations all over her body whenever she looked down. Fast forward a couple of months, a number of falls, extreme fatigue and various other symptoms and Laura was diagnosed with the crippling disease, Multiple Sclerosis. She was 25 at the time, a wife and mother of two wonderful daughters, Shylah and Mylia. This degenerative disease is slowly stealing away Laura’s quality of life. But Laura has much to live for and enjoy and with our help will fly to Singapore to undergo HSCT (Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant), a treatment which has shown to halt MS in its tracks. This treatment is not available in NZ.

HSCT is a grueling procedure that will take Laura away from her family for 12 debilitating weeks. It will be the hardest thing she will ever endure but with her deteriorating physical and cognitive symptoms the results will be life changing. The treatment and related costs for this will be up to as much as $200, 000.

Wellness is the only outcome for Laura and HSCT has given her and her family the hope of facing this illness head on and finding a way forward. We hope you will join us in supporting Laura in this mountainous life challenge.

What is MS?

MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the CNS (The Central Nervous System) the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. The CNS is attacked by the patients own immune system. Symptoms often present themselves initially between the ages of 15 and 45 and woman are twice as likely to get MS than men.

What is HSCT?

HSCT is a procedure where a patients stem cells are extracted from them and are then stored. The patient then undergoes chemotherapy treatment, which destroys the immune system that was attacking the CNS. The stored stem cells are then transferred back into the patients body where, over the course of several weeks, they rebuild the immune system.