Fanny Waldman-Dalal, a loving wife, mother and family therapist by profession, has been suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) for some years now. This debilitating condition is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the protective myelin sheath that covers the nerves. MS has increasingly diminished Fanny’s quality of life. She had to close her private practice, is no longer able to work and had to adjust her day by day living. After years of unsuccessful conventional MS treatments and medications, Fanny is seeking new and promising therapies to halt her devastating condition.

Through the years Fanny has given much to her community. She was an active volunteer for school fundraising, and an empathic professional who worked with troubled families. Most impressively, she worked over 20 years with the court system trying to rehabilitate offenders. She held domestic violence and anger management workshops for men and women in both English and Spanish. However, her life is presently on hold and her ability to take part in these activities has come to a halt. Walking is very difficult for Fanny as she has a severe foot drop in her right leg — she has lost the connection between her nerves and leg muscles. Her balance is severely compromised so she has fallen frequently, and dealt with a fractured knee and wrist not long ago. Walking is now a difficult task for Fanny. She uses a scooter to move around the house and a walker when she goes out for short distances. Fatigue, memory loss, standing up straight, and simple tasks like getting out of bed or getting dressed in the morning have become increasingly difficult.

Despite these obstacles, Fanny remains hopeful as a form of MS therapy known as HSCT, or a non-embryonic stem cell transplant has proved very promising to the MS community. At this time, doctors feel this therapy is Fanny’s best chance to stop the progression of her damaging condition and gain back her life and independence. This procedure is soon to be approved by the FDA but since the condition progresses day by day, she is seeking treatment overseas. Fanny found a reputable and well-known medical facility where she has been approved to have the HSCT treatment, however her health insurance company will not pay for this costly procedure, as it is outside of the United States. Fanny will therefore be required to pay for the total cost of her HSCT therapy out-of-pocket, which is very expensive and much more that she can handle on her own. The estimated cost for HSCT treatment, follow-up care, and travel will be upwards of $75,000. Fanny will also need a paid caregiver while she undergoes the procedure, post-transplant anti-rejection medications, and more.