Young mother with MS to get stem cell treatment in Russia

Sean McMahon

A young Clones mother, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at the age of 28, is hoping to travel to Russia this July to undergo lifesaving medical treatment to reverse the condition that has severely impacted her health and quality of life.

Karen McKenna, now aged 32, must now raise €70,000 to cover the cost of the specialist treatment in Moscow.
She has been accepted into a Russian medical specialist centre for stem cell treatment to help cure her of MS, a debilitating disease of the brain and spinal cord in which the body’s immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fibres and causes communication breakdown between a person’s brain and body.
Speaking about her condition this week to The Anglo-Celt Karen said: "Since my diagnosis almost five years ago, I have taken my medication and I continue to attend weekly oxygen chamber sessions in Sligo. I’m careful with my diet and have followed all medical advice and instructions to the letter. I know it is a manageable disease for many but, despite my best efforts, I’m moving rapidly through the drug treatment chain but it is always a waiting game where I continue to fear what might be around the corner not least for me but especially for my beautiful daughter, Grace."
Karen, mother to two-year old Grace, is aiming to raise over €70,000 to undergo Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) an intense chemotherapy treatment that stops the damage MS causes by wiping out and then re-growing a person’s immune system using their stem cells.
She will be required to remain in Russia for six weeks for a bone marrow transplant similar to that used by oncologists for certain blood cancers as the medical team attempts to ‘reboot’ her immune system and prevent it from attacking her brain and spinal cord. Speaking about the treatment, Karen said: "Hundreds have been treated with it and it has a 78% success rate. I am really optimistic that this could offer me the life line, which I so desperately need.
"At the very least this treatment will slow deterioration and allow me to work full time, participate in family and community events and reduce my dependency on a great family and circle of loving friends."
 

Go Fund Me

To help support Karen, visit her Gofundme page to donate what you can: https://www.ifundraise.ie/3946_help-karen-stem-ms.html