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The clinic in Holland must be turning customers away. A consultant neuro in the UK probably earns £100,000. Sacking a few would help fund treatments for MS patients. It's a sad state of affairs when the medical profession can do nothing to help someone so young in such a dreadful situation.




Woman's £15,000 bid to defeat MS 23 February 2006

A woman crippled by multiple sclerosis is hoping to raise £15,000 for what she hopes will be life-changing treatment abroad.

Claire Holland, aged 29, is confined to a wheelchair and relies on help to perform even the most basic of tasks.

But she hopes pioneering treatment involving stem cell injections in the Netherlands could transform her life.

Claire, of Carlton, Barnsley, was diagnosed with MS three years ago and since then her condition has deteriorated rapidly.

While researching her condition, she discovered treatment at a hospital in Rotterdam - unavailable in this country - which claims to be having success treating MS patients with stem cell injections.

Claire acknowledged there is no guarantee the treatment will work but said: "What have I got to lose.

"Three years ago I was doing a fulfilling job I was an active fit young women playing pool in the pub with my friends and suddenly I couldn't walk properly. "I'm 29-years-old and in a wheelchair and I can't work. Yet there are so many things I want to do with my life, so many things I want to try and want to achieve and at the moment I can't do anything.

"I want to go back to work, one day I want to be a mother, I don't want to have to rely on helpers I want to be able to look after my own home, but right now I'm totally useless.

"It is a lot of money to raise and I know there are no guarantees it will work, but I want to try. I've not done with my life yet and I will grab any chance I can to help me lead a more normal and active life."

Claire is now organising a number of fundraising events, including a Gangsters and Molls night at Shaw Lane Rugby Club in Barnsley on April 28.

A spokesman for the MS Society said the stem cell procedure does have a lot of potential but stressed there is still a lot of research to be done.

He said: "There is a lot of fantastic anecdotal evidence coming out of Rotterdam about the effect it is having on MS patients, but as yet it is very early days. "It is a complicated procedure and there are still benchmarks to be reached before it will be made legal in the UK."

But Claire said it is a risk she is prepared to take.

"Even if the treatment cannot turn back the clock and make me like I was before, it would be nice just to be able to walk again," she said.

"If I don't try I will never ever know if it could have made a difference. I'm not prepared to just sit back and do nothing. Raising that much money is a real challenge - but I like a challenge."

Source: Barnsley News All rights reserved © 2006 Johnston Press Digital Publishing.