0 Donna’s Story

The WAMS Foundation needs your help!!! Our recipient this year is Donna Glen, please check out her story below, or donate here.

Hello my name is Donna Glen. I turned 69 last month and have been dealing with MS for 34 years.

In the beginning symptoms were vague and doctors were puzzled. My husband and I were busy raising our 3 young children and I had a part time job. Life was good! In August 1986 I was ill enough to be hospitalized which resulted in a probable diagnosis of MS. I had an elder sister who had been previously diagnosed with MS so I knew it could happen. An MRI several years later showed brain plaques and confirmed my MS diagnosis.

Our lives changed! The kids were 15, 13 and 11. We really discovered what being a family meant. Everyone stepped up and pitched in.

Fatigue and brain fog were constant companions. Eye sight and mobility were compromised. Even getting out of bed was a task. Muscle spasms were nasty. Medication helped but made the mental confusion worse. Cold hands and feet were common and I couldn’t walk bare footed or unassisted. I was very sensitive to cold or heat.

In January 2011 I had CCSVI treatment and was very pleased with the results. My balance was better, my walking improved, and I had more energy. My speech was no longer slurred, swallowing was easier, and the brain fog lifted. The muscle spasms were lessened and I was able to stop taking medication for them. Sleep was also better.

The last few years I am again having trouble with my balance and walking, especially on my right side. My right foot drop is pronounced and the left is getting slower. I now require a walker to get around safely. Walking without my walker can be very interesting. Can anyone say unexpected side trip – “Hello, wall!” Fatigue is once again very present. Muscle spasms are slowly but surely returning. Holding the same position for any length of time causes my muscles lock up. This makes travelling to Alberta to visit my children and grandchildren challenging at best an impossible at worst.

One of the ways I manage my MS is working around a significant number of food sensitivities. This requires me to make a lot of my own food. When I am preparing my food I know the consistency required for swallowing and it has become second nature to prepare it to that consistency. However, I sometimes get an unpleasant shock when dining out. Three years ago I had flare of the Trigeminal nerve that was extremely painful, both from any contact to cheek or eating. Rest and use of a Tens unit helped and I was able to eat. I eventually became pain free.

Living a normal life style is a challenge when things change daily. Every day is very different; I have learned to do what I can when I can do it and not to worry about the rest. I know staying active is important so I do Aqua fit weekly and ride my exercise bike daily and do lots of stretches.

One of my favourite past times is gardening. Over the last few years I have found it harder and harder to keep up with my yard. I have had to cut my vegetable and flower beds back because I just cannot maintain them. Giving up one of my oldest and most loved hobbies has been very difficult.

Two of the biggest enemies to MS are infections and stress. Grief is a stressor. My elder sister fought her battle with MS bravely and well. We lost her to complications of MS in January of 2014. My mother had been in failing health for several years and passed away in October of this year. My faith comforts me tremendously. I do my best to walk through each day and take things one moment at a time.
My grandson has an immune deficiency called Chronic Granulomatous Disease. The only cure is a bone marrow transplant. He is scheduled to have a transplant in spring of 2018 and the National Insitutes of Health (NIH). I would love to be well enough to help look after my granddaughter while my daughter and son-in-law are away from home for his transplant.

The hope of getting another CCSVI or Stem Cell treatment is very encouraging because the days of being able or unable to cope are getting closer together. We estimate the cost of treatment to be around $20,000.00 to $22,000.00 Canadian.

Please donate.

0 Shaneel’s Story

Shaneel is a wife, daughter and sister who has been living with Multiple Sclerosis for 12 years. She was diagnosed in 2005, just 6 days before her 25th birthday. At the time she had her full independence working full time in the financial field with aspirations of climbing the corporate ladder.

Her initial symptoms that led her to visit the doctor was a combination of unusual feelings which included numbness and tingling in her fingers along with a lack of balance and daily fatigue. Just days after her visit to the doctor and MRI tests, the results had proven that Shaneel has Multiple Sclerosis. This was just the beginning of the journey she was about to be faced with.

Weeks, and months followed in which Shaneel and her family visited numerous doctors and began recommended treatments and medical regimes.

As years followed her MS was moving at a fairly rapid pace. It was the start of the most difficult part of her journey, which had left Shaneel dependent on her loved one’s. Losing her mobility led to the inability to work. In addition, she is constantly fatigued, has eye ataxia (lack of muscle coordination), blurred vision, tremors and poor coordination in hands, drop foot, bladder issues and trouble sleeping.

Shaneel crossed a difficult road in her journey in 2013 when she had a severe MS attack. At this time, she developed Cerebellar ataxia, which causes her head to shake. All other symptoms drastically increased from the attack. Moving forward, Shaneel has since required a wheelchair.

She is now undergoing treatments in the hopes to be living the independent life she knows and deserves. To date, she has undergone CCSVI (angioplasty), Stem Cell therapy, IV therapies, Ozone therapies, bio magnetic therapy, lymphatic magnetic oxygen therapies, hyperbaric oxygen therapies and Jugular Vein Bypass Surgery (neck veins). There have been some improvements with her sleep and bladder control. This is just a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel which she fights to move towards, daily.

Click Here For Details On Our Fundraising Event!

0 Fundraiser: June 24, 2016

The Walk A Myelin Our Shoes Foundation (WAMS) is hosting a fundraiser on June 24th at 6:00pm at the Buck and Ear Pub in Richmond.

We hadn’t planned on a fundraiser this spring but when we heard Shaneel’s story we had to help.

Her story hits especially close to home as I attended high school with Shaneel.   Shaneel was diagnosed with MS around the same time as me but she has difficulty walking, requires assistance feeding herself and has difficulty speaking, Shaneel requires 24 hour care and she is only 36 years old. She is hoping to receive a series of treatments in Mexico which includes stem cell therapy and CCSVI, but the cost of these treatments is $250,000.

Every dollar raised on June 24th will go directly to Shaneel.

Please support and purchase tickets to attend the fundraiser here:https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/wams-fundraiser-for-shaneel-tickets-25624318025

If you cannot attend please consider donating to Shaneel’s very worthy cause. There are “ghost tickets” and “donation” tickets available though the link provided above. Or alternatively you can donate directly to our website

Here is a short video on Shaneel to give you an idea of her daily struggles. Let’s rally everyone we can to get Shaneel the help she deserves! Please support and share with everyone you know!

https://www.facebook.com/shaneel3/videos/10153465572141962/

0 Danielle’s Post CCSVI Update!

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has almost been 2 months since WAMS and their donors enabled me to seek the CCSVI procedure south of the border. I remember the happiness of hearing the news earlier this spring that WAMS was willing to name me as one of their foundation’s 2012 recipients. For that news I would like to thank them and every one of the people who so selflessly donated to support myself and WAMS on my journey. I actually did not believe that this procedure would ever become a reality for me until many years down the road when I would be re-trained to begin working again and be able to save up the money myself.

Looking back these past months the feeling of just how surreal this experience has been has not left me. One of the first times that I think I accepted that this was happening for me was when I was actually on the operating table and part way through my procedure. Dr. Arata, who was performing the procedure. asked if I could feel different sensations. I could feel something in my left jugular, which was Dr. Arata ballooning my vein. The feeling is something I can only describe as like having really plugged ears, except the pressure was in my neck. That is when it hit me. I was having my CCSVI treatment.

I began noticing changes that same evening. The first thing I realized was that my feet actually felt like my feet. Gone was the sensation that my feet were full of water logged cotton balls that were connected to electricity. I had not expected that one, but wow that was a good start! Waking up the next morning I was able to walk better than I have been able to in years. Since I can now feel my feet my balance has also improved. I am still able to surprise my friend who accompanied me, at the improvements I continue to make.

My pain is also not as debilitating as it was before my procedure. Although not completely gone. my pain now averages between a 3 and a 6 on a 1-10 scale on any given day. As such I have been able to lower my pain medications as well. The clarity in my brain is amazing. It is rather exciting to recognize that I am thinking clearer again and I am able to sleep the night through thanks to the reduction in my pain and the overall feeling of wellness I now live with. The improvements might sound small to some but to me they are huge. I have also been told that I can expect improvements in the coming months once I am back in my regular routine. I have actually been away a lot these past few weeks. OH, a big one. I was actually able to dance at my friend’s wedding a month ago. This is great because I could not do the same thing a year earlier at another friend’s wedding. The fact that I could do that made this whole adventure worth it in my eyes and I would do the same thing again down the road if I need the relief.

Again I would like to thank you and WAMS for everything that you have done for me. I feel as though I am reclaiming my life again with your help. I start my 4^th year of my degree program tomorrow. I just hope that I am able to someday help another person as much as you all have helped me. Thank you so much 😀