Aisha Umar

Aisha Umar Ibrahim has been fighting a form of multiple sclerosis (MS), known as Relapsing-remitting MS for almost six years. MS is a chronic, progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include numbness, nerve pain, impairment of speech and muscles, blurred vision, and severe fatigue. Over the years, Aisha has tried several conventional MS medications, supplements, therapies and regimens, all unfortunately without much success. Her condition has progressively worsened, and Aisha condition continues to deteriorate.

Aisha is happily married and the mother of two teenage girls. She has been working as a registered nurse for over 30 years, both abroad and in the United States. She attended Emory University to further her education where she specialized as a consultant nurse in the field of ostomy and wound care. Soon after completing her nursing specialty and beginning her career in nursing, Aisha began to experience symptoms and was soon diagnosed with MS. The extreme disabling pain, profound fatigue, poor balance, vision problems and muscle weakness eventually caused her to stop working. She now receives costly and extensive medical procedures under anesthesia every three months for her pain, however over time these treatments have become less effective and Aisha is desperate for help. Her medical bills are mounting, and she desperately needs better and more effective treatments to stop the progression of her condition, and before it’s too late.

Recently, Aisha learned of a promising treatment for MS known as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or HSCT. This involves the intravenous infusion of autologous stem cells collected from bone marrow or peripheral blood, to re-establish hematopoietic function in patients whose bone marrow or immune system is damaged. After extensive medical testing, Aisha has been approved for HSCT treatment and is now waiting for therapy abroad. She will be given a series of injections that will harvest her bone marrow to begin producing her own stem cells; these will then be collected and frozen, and Aisha will undergo chemotherapy in an effort to suppress her own immune system. At this time, the stem cells will be infused back into her body to begin growing and treating her MS. Her new immune system would ideally no longer attack her brain and spinal cord or myelin sheath covering her nerves.

HSCT is very expensive and Aisha desperately needs your help. This proven and effective treatment is not covered by health insurance due to the overseas treatment center location. The cost for HSCT is upwards of $60,000, not including the cost of travel, lodging, meals, medications, supplements and living expenses. Aisha cannot do it alone and she needs your financial support. Her out-of-pocket medical expenses are mounting, and without your support she will lose the exciting opportunity and a new lease on life! To help with this financial burden, a fundraising campaign in Aisha’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Southeast Stem Cell Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only.

Aisha has chosen to fundraise with HelpHOPELive in part because HelpHOPELive assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for donors. Donors can be sure that funds donated will be used only to pay or reimburse medically-related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the yellow DONATE NOW button. For more information, please contact HelpHOPELive at 800.642.8399.

Thank you ahead of time for your thoughts, prayers and generosity for Aisha. Any donation amount, is one step closer to an improved quality of life and better tomorrow for Aisha.

Gratefully,

Aisha’s loving family