‘As a family we just want to give her some quality of life back’
The hopeful daughter of a Stamullen woman who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at just 47 has made a plea for help in getting her mother innovative treatment abroad to give her “a second chance at life.”
In 2010 Lorraine Wing received the devastating news that she was suffering with the chronic condition after a car accident a year before triggered a number of symptoms that resulted in a deterioration of her mobility.
After battling the debilitating disease for 12 years, the brave mother-of-three who was an active member of her community prior to her illness has decided to undergo stem cell treatment in Russia to give her hope that she will one day walk again.
Lorraine’s youngest daughter Mikayla, who took on the role of her full-time carer two years ago at the young age of 21 says raising the 50k needed to access this treatment would change her family’s life.
“She wants to live and to feel freedom in herself. Knowing she possibly will be fully bed bound eventually, and rely on her wheelchair full-time in a couple of years, has made her want to fight for her dream to walk again.
“As a family we just want to give her some quality of life back. Her whole life has been taken from her; she doesn’t want to be relying on her children. You want your kids to move out and go and live their own lives and I know she thinks that she is holding us back even though she is not.
“We are here and willing to do it one hundred per cent, she’s our mother we would do anything for her but she deserves to have her independence and a chance at having her life back.
“It would be a miracle if we could raise all of these funds to get her over for the treatment.”
HSCT is a harsh treatment that removes the stem cells from the peripheral blood through a bone marrow transplant, followed by a high dose of chemotherapy and a process to put healthy stem cells back into the nervous system.
Lorraine has been approved for the treatment which she hoping to undergo in May 2022.
“The process takes roughly 30-40 days and when home patients have to isolate for up to six months so they can rebuild their immune system, said Mikayla.
“We have spoken to previous patients who have undergone the same treatment and we have had a lot of positive feedback from their experiences.”
After being involved in a car crash in 2009, Lorraine started to notice changes in her feet and legs including cold feet, discolouration in the legs and swelling.
Not thinking much of it, she visited her GP who then referred her for further testing which led to her diagnosis.
“It was a complete shock and at first she refused to believe it. I just remember her coming home from the hospital and her telling me and I just broke down in tears, my initial reaction was, is my mam going to die? I wasn’t aware of what MS was.”
By 2018, Lorraine had got so bad with her mobility that her bedroom had to be moved to the downstairs of the house as climbing the stairs became a difficult task in itself.
“She was such an active person, she loved walking and would walk miles at a time. It definitely took a toll on her, with Covid it has not been easy with being more restricted to being at home.
“Covid opened her eyes and she said I need to do something; I need to change things or otherwise I am just going to go downhill from here.”
Although Mikayla who is sibling to Matthew (30) and Danielle (26) says she is happy to be in the position to care for her mother, she also admits that it is tough seeing her struggle. She added:
“I’ve often thought how long do I have left with my mam; those thoughts do run through my head.
“When my grad came around a few years ago I couldn’t even go out and look for dresses with my mam, she couldn’t bring me to get my hair or make up done and it makes you think what this illness not just done to her but done to our whole family.
“She has got a beautiful granddaughter who will be turning two in January, she is a first-time granny so for her to be able to stand up and have enough strength to hold her granddaughter or be able to bring her for a walk.
“She is still so young, and she should be able to do these things.
“You just have to take every day as it comes now. I definitely think her positive attitude gets us through it more. She is such a strong individual, it’s unbelievable.
“Anyone that knows her, can’t over how strong willed she is, she won’t let this illness take over her life. She has got MS but MS has not got her, she doesn’t let it define her at all.”