THE desire to keep her daughter out of a nursing home drives a Wandiligong mother.
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And her daughter just looks forward to walking unaided.
Emma Bennett and her mother Gail are planning to travel to India in March to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to treat her multiple sclerosis.
Now 37, Miss Bennett developed the condition when aged 18, but had been in relatively good health until about two years ago.
Her mother said the change from the relapsing remitting stage of MS to primary progressive occurred rapidly.
“She went down very quickly, that was the sad part, she just sort of woke up one day and then she just kept falling over,” Ms Bennett said.
Miss Bennett now relies on a walker and her mother left work to become her full-time carer.
The family explored HSCT treatment in Australia but this remains in the trial phase for MS patients and so might not take place for years.
“Emma does not have years to wait and as the time goes by she is getting worse,” Ms Bennett said.
So they decided on the Indian facility and are now busy raising about $45,000 by January 30 to pay for the HSCT.
“I feel very confident, (the treatment’s) been going in Mexico and Russia for well over 10 years,” Ms Bennett said.
“She virtually comes back with a new immune system.
“Some of these people, they’re not only walking, they’re back in the gym, building up muscle tone, that’s what we want for her.
“If she gets the treatment and it is successful, she’d just have a better quality of life, because the way she's heading now, she’ll probably be in a nursing home by time she's 40. That’s something that we’re really trying to avoid.”
A fundraising night last October, sausage sizzles, raffles, as well as Ms Bennett using some of her superannuation, have brought the total to about $28,000 so far.
“I had one lady in the street last week stop me and give me an envelope, it had $500 in it,” Ms Bennett said.
“She said it’s lovely to know that you’re helping someone to actually get there.”
Miss Bennett asked people to support her fundraising efforts.
“I’ll be very happy to be able to walk on my own,” she said. “Get out, do the exercise and go places.”
To donate, go to gofundme.com/ems-ms-journey.
