Fundraising drive to send Yvonne to Mexico for life-changing treatment

A FUNDRAISING campaign to send a woman suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to Mexico for life-changing treatment has just been set up.

Yvonne Geoghegan from Bagenalstown is attempting to raise the €80,000 needed to cover the costs of a radical treatment that will see her entire immune system broken down and ‘reset’ in a bid to stop her MS getting worse.

In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks the nerves with devastating results, and in Ireland, the condition is treated so that it slows down but not cured.

Yvonne wants to travel to Mexico to receive haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), which is a procedure that aims to reset the faulty immune system. It does this by partly or fully wiping out the patient’s immune system through chemotherapy, then stem cells are replanted back into the body, thus starting the immune system again with a clean slate.

She realises that the treatment is extreme, but is willing to go through with it.

Yvonne (30) was diagnosed with MS five years ago and, unfortunately, her condition has been very aggressive. She’s lost the sight in one of her eyes, can’t walk without a crutch and suffers from dreadful fatigue. Already she’s had some bad falls, where she’s been injured.

Yvonne lives in fear of what damage the MS could do to her body next, including going blind or being unable to walk at all.

“MS is different for everyone, with some people being able to live with very few symptoms. Unfortunately, my attacks are very aggressive,” Yvonne told ***The Nationalist***.

So far, she has been on two different types of medication, which are designed to slow down but not cure the condition. She said that the side-effects from the medication are extremely difficult to cope with, including sickness, constant nausea, hair loss, headaches, increased risks of cancer and serious brain infections, among many more.

Yvonne is the daughter of Sandra Geoghegan and Jimmy Kavanagh. She had just finished her training as a beautician and nail technician in 2019 when she began to feel unwell.

“I had so many plans, but unfortunately, they didn’t work out,” she said.

‘When I was diagnosed, it changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I try to remain positive, but the reality is that I'm currently living on edge of what could or will happen next,’ Yvonne said in her statement on GoFundMe.

Since her diagnosis, she’s been reading about MS and in the last few years has researched the HSCT treatment. It is carried out in Britain, but it’s even more expensive there than in Mexico.

Yvonne and her family have set a GoFundMe target of €80,000. She’s been accepted onto the programme and hopes to travel once the money is raised.

“I know the treatment is extreme, but I’d go tomorrow if I had the money,” said Yvonne.

The money will cover travel and living costs, the treatment itself, which will take up to 30 days, tests before and after the programme, wigs and insurance. Adjustments to her home may be needed, too. She’s also promised that if the treatment can’t go ahead, the money will be doated to a similar cause.

More than €5,000 has been raised in the first week of the campaign, while Yvonne and her family are also planning fundraising events.

She’s very grateful to everyone who has donated so far and wants to thank people for their support.

“The response so far has been phenomenal. I never expected €5,000 to be raised in a week. I’m so grateful to everyone, thanks so much,” said Yvonne.

To donate to the fund, look up Support Yvonne’s HSCT Journey on GoFundMe or go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-yvonnes-hsct-journey