Lee's Race Against The Clock

Lee, my life-long friend since birth needs help, and quick. We need to get her to Russia for a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) so she has a fighting chance at healing her Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis before it’s too late. With most world borders being closed, and the disease slowly but surely gripping her more and more, time is not on her side. Lee, being an only child, is also the primary caregiver of her mother who is unwell. Lee needs to get to Russia, get home, get back to helping her Mum, eventually get back to work…and on with her life. But it’s a long process getting everything in place and the costs are prohibitive, especially considering Lee is no longer able to work. The treatment alone will cost NZ$85,000. There is also the cost of her return airfares, incidental expenses in Russia, and up to a year of aftercare medical expenses back in NZ. We really need some help.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease that interferes with your brain’s ability to operate your body. It’s debilitating and disabling. In Lee’s case, after having been diagnosed for 5 years now, she is still unable to access treatment in NZ or qualify for the disease-modifying drugs on offer to New Zealanders. Her only chance of regaining control over her life is to travel to Russia for treatment because while NZ carries out HSCT for patients suffering from cancer, it is not yet offered for the treatment of MS here.

Lee has always been a hard worker and a go-getter. Owning her own home was always a priority and after many years of not a lot of time off in order to fulfil that dream, she was finally able to go on a long-overdue holiday to America in 2015. I was with her on that trip and that’s where the very first signs of her MS suddenly started showing. Her symptoms started with a lack of balance, fatigue, and becoming mentally and physically exhausted. 5 years later, they’ve now progressed to limited walking, not being able to sit for extended periods of time without excruciating pain, and minimising where she can go and what she can do to support not only herself, but now also her Mum as well. Everyday tasks that most of us take for granted, are all becoming more and more difficult. Driving, walking, grocery shopping, cooking, all life’s ‘must-do’s’ in general, are now all a challenge. However, Lee isn’t prepared to take this lying down.

I’ve watched MS grab a hold of her and, as a result, am now orchestrating Lee’s Race Against The Clock on her behalf and will accompany her to Russia. I will cover all my own travel, accommodation and day-to-day living costs, will visit Lee at the hospital every day, look after her as best I can, and will assure her safe return home. The best part will be being in witnessing her new lease on life once she is recovered from her ordeal.

Going to Russia for HSCT is the most drastic, but also the most courageous, efficient and proactive method of tackling PPMS. It’s the best and only treatment out there at the moment that can halt the disease. The doctor whose care she will be under in Pirogov Hospital in Moscow, Dr. Denis Fedorenko, is one of Russia’s leading haematologists. The hospital has treated more MS patients than any other facility in the world, with an 80-90% success rate. NOT traveling to Russia for treatment guarantees Lee a 100% chance of losing her mobility. She simply refuses to accept this without a fight. With her situation deteriorating quickly, limiting her means of travel, the race to Russia is real and our time is against the clock to raise money, for the borders to open and to get treatment plans confirmed.

The clock is ticking. Time is not on our side. We need to get prepared as fast as possible to make the journey to Russia as soon as the borders open. We can not, and will not quit until we get there. Please, if you can help Lee fulfil her HSCT mission, we’d be grateful beyond words. Please share this as wide and far as possible and remember that no donation is too small.