Pamela Roller

Pam Roller is a 54 year-old woman who is extremely ill, and has been suffering from a severe and progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) since 2002. Over the years, Pam has tried many conventional medications to try and halt the progression of her disease, however none of these efforts have worked and Pam continues to suffer. By 2009, she experienced many flare-ups in her condition, leaving her very weak and sometimes hospitalized for weeks at a time. She tried everything possible to treat her MS; from modifying her diet, taking special supplements, spending years in physical therapy, and working hard to increase her muscle strength. She continues therapeutic riding lessons to maintain her core body strength. She has given numerous medications known on the market for MS, a good, long try. Unfortunately, none of these regimes have worked for Pam, and over the years her health has continued to spiral downwards and Pam desperately needs your help.

Pam grew up in Mount Healthy, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, and graduated from Mount Healthy High School. Pam worked hard and received a college degree from Thomas More College, then attended Chase College of Law and eventually found her calling as a mediator and teacher. Pam worked for the government for 30 years and continued to work until October of 2015. Pam’s MS has progressed and she is now unable to work, and she grows sicker each and every day. She can no longer attend church regularly or even volunteer to help others. No longer able to walk without a walker, Pam relies on a wheelchair, suffers balance and vision problems, putting her at high risk of injury from falling. Even the most mundane tasks are difficult for Pam and her biggest desire, to be able to play and spend time with her eleven grandchildren, is temporary on hold.

After years of struggling with MS, Pam learned of a promising treatment for her condition that uses embryonic stem cells derived from live births, to help reverse some of her symptoms and disabilities that she faces. Pam has been approved for stem-cell therapy, but funding this medical procedure is very expensive as her health insurance does not cover the procedure at this time. Stem-cell therapy could potentially help Pam regain her life that she had prior to MS, however funding this procedure is monumental and financially draining. The Stem Cell Institute is located in Panama City, Panama and Pam will have to raise upwards of $30,000 to cover the treatment cost, airfare and hotel expenses for both herself and a designated caregiver. Following treatment, Pam she will follow a strict medication and therapy regimen, and her out-of-pocket expenses will be very high.

To help with the financial burden of Pam’s uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in her 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 South-Atlantic Stem Cell Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for medical expenses only. Pamela 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.

Pam has helped others her whole life, but now it is time to reach out and help Pam! Reversing her MS and stopping any more progression will enable her to live a better life and feel like a member of her community once again. Thank you ahead of time for your thoughts and prayers and generous support.

Gratefully,

Amanda Newton, Pam’s daughter & Mindi Emmons, Pam’s daughter-in-law