A BELFAST woman has told of her family's race against time to raise enough money to take her sister to Russia for life-saving stem cell treatment.
Suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) for the past six years, Deborah Barrett (51) has reached the secondary progressive stage of her condition, with fears she will soon be wheelchair bound.
With her health deteriorating quickly, her family have learned of revolutionary Haematopietic Stem Cell Transplant treatment in Moscow and hope it could be the answer to halting the steady progression of her condition.
Her sister Rhoda Leckey has told the Irish News they are "holding onto hope" that the treatment could be the answer they are looking for.
With time limited and the treatment and recuperation costing around £55,000, Ms Leckey said the battle is now on to raise the funds needed.
"They claim to be able to halt the progression of the condition by 85 per cent, which we would be amazing," she said.
"Research has shown that many of those treated have seen a vast improvement in their condition, one woman we heard about was almost wheelchair-bound, but after this treatment she is now out jogging.
"As a family, we want to do as much as we can and if we have to raise that money, we will."
Ms Barrett, a mother-of-two, was diagnosed when she was 45 after feeling ill for some time. At first, doctors thought she may have suffered a stroke, but shortly after was given the MS diagnosis.
Undergoing various treatments, the former pharmacy technician and her family's desperate search has led them to HSCT, which uses intense chemotherapy to reboot the immune system to stop it attacking the central nervous system.
With tests at the Moscow clinic arranged for November, Ms Barrett's family thought they had several months to raise the £55,000 needed. But recently medics brought the tests forward to August after increasing lesions were found in her body.
"Her speech is becoming more muddled and her memory isn't great," said Ms Leckey.
"She's becoming more unsteady as well and knows she will be wheelchair bound if things get worse, she knows someone will have to feed her.
"If her condition gets any worse, she won't be able to get the treatment in Moscow.
"But we're holding onto hope that she will keep going and we will be able to raise the money she needs to be able to get to Moscow. We are absolutely optimistic.
"There's five sisters, she's the baby of the family and we're all fighting for her."
For further information on the fundraising campaign, please visit 'Lifeline for Deborah' on GoFundMe and Facebook.
