Carlow family aim to get Yvonne to Mexico for MS therapy

THE family of a young woman from Co Carlow are desperately raising funds for her so that she can travel to Mexico for life-changing treatment.

Bagenalstown's Yvonne Geoghegan (31) was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) six years ago and is being treated at Waterford University Hospital, but in recent months her health has deteriorated so badly that she fears she’ll be paralysed if she doesn’t take some drastic action soon.

MS causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the nerves’ protective layer, leading to many unpredictable and sometimes permanent symptoms. Yvonne’s disease is particularly aggressive and she is now blind in her right eye, has weakness in her right leg, is extremely fatigued and has severe mobility issues.

She also suffers from terrible pain, has had an attack of neuralgia to her face and said that even walking to the toilet is a trip hazard. She’s now starting to use a wheelchair as she can’t walk unaided, while her home has also been deemed as unsuitable to her needs.

She and her family are raising €80,000 for her to get Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) treatment in Mexico. The treatment involves harvesting stem cells from her body, undergoing bouts of chemotherapy and then reintroducing the cells.

“It’s like restarting a computer. My immune system needs to be wiped clean. Am I nervous about it? I’m more nervous waking up tomorrow morning paralysed,” Yvonne told The Nationalist via a video call.

She’s in isolation right now ahead of getting treatment later this week in Waterford.

“I’ve been trying to keep my infection levels down because I’ve been so sick lately,” she continued. “The treatment for MS in Ireland is designed to slow it down, not stop it, whereas HSCT would.” She also said that the treatment she’s receiving in Waterford isn’t working and has horrific side effects ‒ sickness, constant nausea, hair loss, headaches, increased risks of cancer and infection.

She was a successful and talented beautician and nail technician before she was diagnosed at the age of 25 and has been battling the condition ever since.

Yvonne has built up a circle of friends in the MS community and, after much research and discussion, she now believes that MSCT treatment in Mexico is her best bet. She set up a GoFundMe page with €80,000 being the target, and although almost €24,000 has been raised, her worsening condition means that it’s now urgent that she receives as much money as soon as possible.

She is the daughter of Jimmy and Sandra, while two of her cousins are Kate and Emma Holden, who are also helping her to raise the money.

“Yvonne's MS is very aggressive. She’s not getting a break from it. There’s no chance for her body to recover after each attack,” explained Emma.

“I need to get there as soon as possible with the way I’ve been deteriorating," said Yvonne.

The money raised will be used for the treatment itself, travel costs, medical and travel insurance, wigs, further testing and accommodation. It’s expected that the treatment will take up to a month to complete. If, for any reason the treatment doesn’t go ahead, the money will be donated to a similar cause.

Kate and Emma have organised a bingo party in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow on 20 September, when the doors will open at 8pm. The duo has worked hard at getting as many good raffle prizes as they can while also securing top DJ Tommy to play for the night. They’ve also organised transport to and from the event.

If you’d like tickets, contact Yvonne on 085 1555610 or Katie 085 1408534 or to donate to the cause go to the GoFundMe page at ‘yvonne’s hsct journey’.