Maria Ryan

Please Help Make a Difference!

My name is Maria Ryan and I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in 2001. Relapsing-remitting means that symptoms, such as a vision problem in my case, can come and go making it difficult to detect. Prior to 2001, I was living the life I had worked hard to achieve. I was extremely active, I ran 5k’s, I boxed and I owned and operated a successful dog training business where I lived my passion every day.

I started experiencing symptoms that prompted me to visit my eye doctor and after hours of testing, he made an appointment for me to see a neurologist. The next day, I had my first brain MRI only to be unexpectedly diagnosed with this life changing disease. I was blown away and devastated by the diagnosis, especially since I was at the peak of my career and physical health. Over time, strange things started to happen to my body, such as my left leg dragging causing me to randomly trip and fall. I slowly began to lose feeling in certain areas and was no longer able to run 5k’s, nor could I box anymore. Not long thereafter, I had to make the decision to sell my business in order to prepare for my unknown future. Selling my beloved business I had worked so hard to build was a huge blow to me, both financially and emotionally, leaving me in deep despair.

Multiple sclerosis has stolen many things from my life, not just a successful career. Today my entire body is almost completely numb, I have very little stamina, my hands shake, I have very poor balance, like being drunk and I fall almost daily. I’ve had to start using a cane, shopping using a motorized carts at the grocery store, which are a pain to control with limited motor ability and I have had to get a wheelchair. I have to hire someone to mow my lawn, change my oil, clean my house, etc. I went from being a totally independent, successful entrepreneur and amateur athlete to a person who is now searching for a way to beat the clock of MS.

Alas, I have found a new sense of hope in a treatment that will repair my central nervous system. This is a miracle treatment! I am fundraising now in the hope that I will be able to take advantage of an adipose (fat) stem cell treatment. The doctors extract my fat using a mini liposuction machine. The fat is spun down to harvest my stem cells, which are injected into different areas of the body. For example, they will inject the cells into my left leg so it will stop dragging, into my spine to heal the lesions so I can walk without falling and into my nasal passage to reach my blood brain barrier to heal the many lesions on my brain. These lesions on my brain and spinal cord are what cause me to decline physically each day.

The cost of the stem cell treatment is $9,900.00. Through the generosity of friends, family and many former clients that I remain in contact with, I have been able to raise $1,500 over the past few months. That is a great start but still far from the amount needed to get the treatment. To help with this financial burden of my uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in my 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. Please, consider a contribution.

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Helping people and their pets with behavior issues is one of my greatest passions and I would give anything to continue that work again. Please help me raise the funds I need to make this life changing treatment a possibility.

With sincere gratitude,
Maria Ryan (727-434-1378)