Hello, my name is Carla, I’m 46 years old today. I live in Chester, that’s north of England with my husband and my 3 children, age 13, 11 and 6, all boys. In April 2015. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but looking back we realized we’ve had signs for as far back as 2002., when I’ve had a case of optic neuritis.
In 2014. I started to go downhill rapidly and then in 2015. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It was a shock to the system, because being a mother of 3 children, very active, they’re very active, I was very busy, very sporty myself. And from that, within months I went downhill to just about being able to walk my youngest son to school, which is a 5 minute walk.
At the beginning of this year, I had to resign myself to the fact that I could no longer walk Toby to school and I had to drive him everywhere. I had to drive to our neighbor’s house, because I couldn’t walk without being able to hold on to something or someone or bounce along walls. Even at home I bounce along the walls, my children refer to me as a pinball, in a pinball machine.
Medication… From the beginning I was told I had Relapsing-Remitting MS, but because my situation wasn’t bad enough, they couldn’t prescribe any medication for me. I was told that I have to have 2 serious relapses within a 2 year period, before they would prescribe any disease modifying drugs for me and I was told to take care of myself. Which I tried through diet, through rest, I tried other things like yoga, acupuncture, just to try and help myself. But slowly, I was deteriorating.
In the middle of this year I finally convinced my neurologist to take another MRI scan, to see if my condition was worsening. After 3 months, waiting 3 months for those results I was told that my condition isn’t, the lesions weren’t getting any worse. It wasn’t progressive, but what my MS, instead of being RR MS, Relapsing-Remitting MS, he believes I was having, I changed to Secondary-Progressive multiple sclerosis. And they said, and as we know, there isn’t anything really on the market, on the medical market and there wasn’t really anything they could do for me. So in my mind he was telling me that I had to just sit and wait and wait and wait.
I didn’t believe that was right for a 45-year-old woman with 3 young children to sit and wait to get worse. Earlier on in the year I’ve seen a documentary about stem cell therapy and with all the treatments that I’d seen that was the only one that let a spark in me. And then I met Shaun, through my sister in law, Shaun Lawrence and he told me about Swiss Medica and what happened to him and his experience. And that was my light at the end of the tunnel.
And I ummed and I ahhed and I took my time and we discussed it with our families and gradually we made the decision that that was the only way forward, that was our option. We either do nothing or we do something. So we came to Swiss Medica.
And I have to honestly say I’ve had the most amazing 2 weeks in this clinic. It’s been brilliant, from start to finish. We’ve been looked after, the service has been, and the care, has been second to none. All the staff, from the chef right through to the doctors has been brilliant. The care has just been… Compassion has been wonderful.
Results… Well, know that results aren’t gonna always be immediate. Some things I can see a difference in, some things not yet, but I’m so optimistic and enthusiastic and excited. I feel excited again, I feel like I’ve been given a second chance.
When you’ve been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or a chronic disease like this, you look back and you see so many opportunities that you wasted and you think you’ll never be able to do these things again. And now I feel I’ve got the chance to do all the things that I wished I’d done before, that I can do.
I have clarity. One of the main things I see straight away is clarity. I don’t have brain fog. There would be times when my husband would be speaking to me and it’d be like he’s talking to himself. I just can’t focus, I can’t think, I can’t make decisions. My children would be asking me things and I’ll snap or I just won’t understand or not have the patience. And now everything feels so clear, I don’t feel puzzled or confused. We went out into Moscow and I felt alive like I could run around the streets of Moscow, like I used to when I lived in Paris and it felt wonderful. That was fantastic.
I still get a bit tired, I still need a little nap, but I feel I’ve got that get up and go in me again. I feel I can dream and look forward to and plan and make decisions and… I just feel that my life’s my own again, I feel it’s all coming back as it how it used to be.
I’ve had a wonderful experience in this clinic, I really have and I recommend this kind of care to anybody. I’m looking forward to the next 6 months, where we suppose to look out for little changes that will be happening step by step. And each month I will be reporting back with, I hope, improvements that have taken place and are ongoing. And I thank everybody, from the chef right to the doctors, to the directors at Swiss Medica for giving me that hope back. Thank you.
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Medical Advisor, Swiss Medica doctor