"Chad got diagnosed in 2011, he was having issues with fatigue, mood, balance and spasms at this time, we contributed this to his prosthetic leg, the doctor thinks that he was probably in progression on PPMS for about 6 years at this time, we only found out in October of this year when we went to Vegas and Chad couldn't get his body to cooperate or listen to him at all, heat and cold really affect him he looked like a crazy drunken soldier walking down the strip and he hadn't had a drink at all, this is when we pushed for more testing."



"motorcycle accident, He had his left leg amputated below the knee, Ryann was 3 weeks old, Jaden was 3 and Chad was 33, his fundraiser will actually mark the 10th year anniversary to the day, when they had to take his leg, some doctors speculate that this was this accident that may have triggered the MS gene to activate in Chad, symptoms never showed up till about 3 years later (my best guess, that is when I can remember Chads balance starting to go and fatigue) he was not diagnosed with PPMS till 2012"



" I guess thats enough photo history for now:) Chad and I leave on July 5 to Moscow, we are keeping a close eye on all the political going ons, as we do not want to fly into a war, we will keep applying to more places in the mean time, just in case, I heard back from Germany, they need me to send more paperwork before they can give me an acceptance or not. I will be returning home on the 12th of July, and relieve my mother in-law from my kidlets, Candy and Don will be flying out to meet Chad after he is out of isolation to bring him home around Aug 16ish."



Stem Cell Transplants
There is currently only one scientifically-demonstrated & confirmed treatment for Multiple Sclerosis with enduring curative efficacy: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT).

This is not a new medical procedure; it has been performed millions of times all around the world since the 1960s for treatment of cancer (now approximately 50,000 times per year) and has been used successfully to cure several types of hematological-rooted autoimmune disorders since the early 1990s (such as MS, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, CIDP and others). It involves chemotherapy so the treatment is both uncomfortable and expensive (most medical insurance will not yet cover it for treatment until the phase III clinical trial is completed).

This procedure is currently the ONLY treatment that has been scientifically verified to stop the underlying MS disease process, restore normal immune self-tolerance, and produce lasting curative symptomatic improvement for the majority of MS patients. And definitely worth mentioning. . . . probably one of the biggest intangible benefits to stopping the MS disease progression is that this treatment restores a degree of certainty to the future of a persons life that MS often robs them of.

How & why does HSCT cure multiple sclerosis?
As a curative treatment HSCT works by partially or completely erasing the bodys immune system memory. This effects a beneficial change of the bodys overall B- and T-lymphocyte epitope (antigen binding) repertoire, inactivating autoimmunity (making the bodys immune cells antigen naive) which results in restoration of immune self tolerance. This is often referred to as resetting the immune system which stops the underlying MS disease activity & progression. Once achieved, the body then has a chance to repair (or compensate for) existing neural damage that is not undermined by further MS disease progression, often resulting in substantial and lasting symptomatic improvement.

The interesting fact here is that it is the chemotherapy which is effecting the curative aspect of the treatment by wiping out long-lived T- and B-lymphocytes of the body that carry the faulty auto-reactive memory so they may be replaced by naive, unprogrammed and self-tolerant non-auto-reactive lymphocytes generated by the bone marrow. The takeaway concept here is no chemotherapy = no cure. This is why simply injecting stem cells into the body does not render the bodys immune system self-tolerant as is required to stop the underlying MS disease activity.

STEPS IN THE PROCESS:
Mobilization
For approximately four days (twice a day), Chad will be given injections to stimulate his stem cell growth. The process of causing greater numbers of stem cells to be present in the blood stream in order for collection, is known as mobilization.

Apheresis (Collection of Stem Cells)
Apheresis is normally a painless procedure, however, back and hip pain have been reported. The collection of stem cells takes approximately two to four hours for the procedure. Chad's blood will be withdrawn through a catheter and circulated through a cell-separating machine. This machine separates and collects white blood cells, including the stem cells, along with a few red blood cells and platelets. The remaining blood cells will be returned to his body. There is only a small amount (several cups) of his blood in the separator machine at any one time. The blood is returned to him at the same rate it is removed. After the cells are collected, they are frozen and stored under special conditions until they are needed for transplant.

Chemotherapy
Approximately four days of chemotherapy will be utilized to wipe out the existing immune system. Blood work will determine when the immune system has been sufficiently shut down in preparation for the stem cell transplant. At this point, the status of his isolation will be raised and only doctors and nurses will be permitted to enter his room.

Stem Cell Transplant
After the high-dose chemotherapy is completed, Chad's own stem cells will be given back to him. It is very much like a blood transfusion.

Although a stem cell transplant sounds dramatic, the actual procedure is simple. The stored frozen cells will be thawed in warm water, and infused back into the body.

Engraftment
One to three weeks following the transplant, signs that the stem cells/new immune system are growing (engrafting) and beginning to produce blood cells are expected. This new immune system will have no memory of MS. As the blood counts begin to rise, the white blood cells will start to fight and prevent infections. Soon after this occurs, he will be released from the hospital!

Recovery
It takes an average of 12-18 months to see the complete benefits of this treatment, however, some patients have continued to see improvement for up to five years post-transplant. In addition to halting the progression and activity of their MS, 80% of HSCT patients see a reversal of 45-80% of their pre-existing symptoms.

WOW    thanks for the heads up    

 

A lot of us don't have a lot of extra cash  

But as a Social website of "car loving" car guys  

Lets step up and help out...  

I know we have 4000 members  and Lonnie from each would be 4000.00  

but  if the top posters could spare 5-10 dollars, we might do the same..  

Lets keep this in the forefront    

We can help and still support the site....  

and the Prayers for Gods Will and his healing are free   

Canadian Poncho wrote:

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With all the tension between Canada and Russia right now, do you think the surgery will still be a go?

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I know they mentioned on Facebook that they are keeping an eye on that. It sure would be sad if political crap interfered with health care for someone so much in need.

Small world when you realize a fellow member lives just up the block from me.Although we've never officially met I have seen chads cars in his driveway.Hate to see someone going through this terrible disease as I also have a best friends wife who is going through MS as well.She has gone to india for the liberation treatment and has had some improvement but varies day to day.Your treatment sounds a lot more aggressive than what she had and I hope it will help you out.LMK if there is anything we can do to help.

I've sent an email inquiring about donations. I'll update here once I get info, thanks.

cant tell you how close to home this is for me,be happy to help cause I HATE MS

427carl wrote:

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We can help which ever way is best for the fundraisers  

It would be cool to send our money to a single place

and then send a large amount from CP   (2 cents)

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 x2

Hey Brian if you ever drive by and see any action around the house ,stop by I'd like to meet you. 

Perhaps a Paypal account could be set up for donations?

Looks like I better learn about paypal. In the next few days, I will see what I can do. Thanks for the heads up guys.

Any updates on a paypal account?

It would be best if Chad set up the Paypal account. That way all donations would go directly to him.