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Farrell travelled to the U.S. and paid out of pocket to have the treatment performed.

As her husband Patrick said, she perked up on the operating table, but has since declined due to the immune inhibitors she's taken for years.

"She was two weeks away from death when she had the surgery, the damage was already done," Farrell said. "But even she was able to turn her head and speak right after."

While on the operating table, Tkachuk said he was able to stretch out his leg. “My calf muscles have been locked and while on the recovery table, I was able to stretch my legs like a kid. With no pain.”

Once back in Barrie, Tkachuk said he ran from the car in the parking lot. It was the first time he’s run for 10 years.

Tkachuk now leaves his cane behind on walks, and said he tackles the stairs with greater ease.

Normally, he went down the stairs by tediously placing two feet on each step for balance, while hanging onto the handrail. Now, Tkachuk can take his dog for a walk, holding only the leash and stepping forward on the stairs, one foot on each step.

“People can see my recovery, they can’t deny it,” he said. “The Monday after my surgery I went back to work and the guys couldn’t believe how good it was.

“There are small things I can do physically I couldn’t do before. I know I’m not a burden anymore. I can participate and be there.”

I was really having trouble walking,” she said. “My walker wasn't helping.”

It didn't take the Capreol resident long to pack her bags and head for Costa Rica. Gauthier spent 13 days and just under $17,000 abroad. Upon returning, Gauthier was able to walk without a cane.

"I'm back to 100 per cent. I had 20 years of feeling miserable," he said this week.

Ridler's 53-year-old son has MS, and sits in a wheelchair. He also had the surgery in California but an "excess of fluid" in his brain meant the procedure didn't work as well, says Ridler.

Maralyn Clarke suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage — an incident that was revealed publicly this past Saturday.

According to our nurses, she started having symptomatic improvements (improved grip strength) on the table, which I didn’t believe at the time. Afterwards, her arm strength got quite a bit better and she started walking after her recovery period, which she was not able to do before.

The fifth patient was the worst patient that I had ever treated. He came in, in a wheelchair, his arms and legs were contracted. His movements were very, very limited. He couldn’t even turn his head. He couldn’t clear his throat. He could not speak. He was legally blind. It was almost like a coma situation. We had to do his venogram from the left side because we could not straighten his right knee. We did this procedure, and he had the worst blockages until then.
[...]
He was supposed to come for his 4-week follow–up. He didn’t, so I was worried that he did not have any improvements. He showed up another 4-weeks later. He was able to move his arms. He is started to see. His vision went from 20/200 to 20/30. On his initial visit, his wife had to translate everything that he said because I was unable to understand him. But during the follow up visit he had this whole conversation with me with a very clear voice. He was still in a wheelchair, but he was able to eat, able to move his arms with contractures improved. He used to have 3-4 severe headache episodes everyday, which he did not have any since the day of the procedure.

A year ago, Garcia couldn't get across the room without a walker or wheelchair.

"He said, 'Let's see if you can walk,' and sure enough, I was able to get up and walk around the bed," Garcia said.

Now, Barbara can do a lot more than that -- like take care of her granddaughter -- even vacation in Spain.

Being free of a walker or wheelchair is all the proof Barbara needs.

"It's just amazing," she said.

The investigators reassessed 48 patients with the EDSS (Extended Disability Status Scale) following initial baseline testing. From before to after the procedure, "there was a statistical improvement. Improvements occurred in each of the MS types, except in primary progressive MS," Dr. Mehta said.

Reevaluations of 79 patients who performed a timed 25-foot walk at baseline showed a significant improvement in walking speed. In terms of MS quality of life, from before to after the procedure "there were significant improvements in physical and mental ability. There clearly seems to be a trend. In the modified fatigue impact score, there also seems to be a clear improvement," he said.

Dr. Mehta also said that there was a trend toward improvement in balance, lower-extremity weakness, incontinence, coordination, and vertigo in more than 80% of patients.

To treat the CCSVI, Dawn underwent a simple balloon angioplasty to help keep the veins flowing freely.

Since then, she's regained a quality of life that was once only a dream.

"I have moments when I don't feel well, but I'm better than I have been in a long, long time," Dawn said.

Last weekend, Dave Ius rode his bike for the first time in longer than he can remember.

Since undergoing the procedure last year, Ius said he has regained his mobility, his thinking is clearer, and the pins and needles sensation in his extremities has lessened.

“I’m totally amazed by my progress,” he said. “I was heading for a wheelchair.

“It’s been nothing short of a miracle.”

As soon as Dale Woolsey underwent liberation therapy in Mexico to treat his Multiple Sclerosis, he could feel the warmth returning to his feet.

Over the next few days and weeks, his tolerance for hot temperatures improved and his double vision disappeared.

It has improved his quality of life beyond his imagining

"It went really well," Veillard said. "I noticed some things immediately, and then over the course of the next few months – probably two or three months – things improved a little bit more."

Veillard said that some of the major things she noticed after having the surgery were that there was more fluidity to her movements, she had better balance, and she had more energy.

"I used to get worn out so quickly that I'd have to really manage my schedule to make sure that I got everything done in a day, or didn't plan as many things to get done, so that made a huge difference," she said.

The fact remains that we have seen our 40-something relative - whose MS symptoms had progressed to the point where she suffered frequent mental lapses and had to resort to a motorized scooter to get around the mall - restored to the picture of health, at least for now.

Tere says that she is experiencing significant improvements in her symptoms, although they may not be obvious to others at first look.

My back is much straighter now" says Tere happily, "I used to look kind of like a question mark, bent over at the waist. I feel taller and just that gives me hope and motivation to keep doing what I need to do".

"I am sleeping better, have less twitching in my legs and, most importantly" she says with a big smile, "I use the bathroom less!"

“I was getting good results from it,” said Keagan. “It seemed to be a little improvement every day and then I guess my veins re-narrowed and that kind of slowed everything down.”

Five months after the procedure, Keagan noticed a regression in the improvements to his health and the return of some of his symptoms. However, many of his symptoms did disappear.

“My disorientation is gone,” said Keagan. “But my mobility is gone back to the way it was. My head used to be in a cloud all the time. That’s never come back. My fatigue has never come back.”

After receiving the treatment last month, she said she feels much better and hopes to confirm the improvements aren't temporary during follow-up visits with physicians. Her voice, which had become weak, grew stronger, and her feet, once cold, became warmer. Best of all, she was no longer incredibly tired, as she was before she travelled to the Rhode Island Vascular Institute for treatment.

Her greatest breakthrough was having the strength to head down to Maine to see her two-year-old grandson, Noah.

"Since I've had this procedure, I go down and we play together and I take him outside and I spend three or four hours with him, and I have the energy to drive home and go shopping," she said.

"It's been a whole new world. People say, 'You're fatigued, so what?' But it can really, really debilitate you so that you don't want to do anything. And when you're that tired it also causes you to be very depressed."