To Russia with love
A Cavan mother’s hopes of travelling to Russia for innovative stem cell treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) received a boost when an online fundraiser garnered over €20,000 in just 24 hours.
Jennifer Hands is a 41-year-old single mother of two teenagers from Milltown in Cavan. She was recently diagnosed with the neurological condition after waking up one day to discover she had lost the feeling in her legs and feet.
Jennifer’s sister, Sylvia McGarvey, outlined her sister’s hopes for treatment based on the experience of other MS patients: “A good friend of hers went to Russia five years ago for a similar treatment. Before that he was told he would be in a wheelchair within two years. Now he’s doing fantastic. Jennifer also knows another girl from Monaghan who got this treatment and really benefited from it.”
The specialist treatment has been on offer in the Russian capital for 16 years - treating 3,000 patients and claiming a 95% efficacy rate.
Jennifer trained as a hairdresser in Southwest College in Enniskillen before setting up her own Kreative Kutz in Ballyconnell. She recently moved the business to Milltown: “I worked so hard to build this business from the ground myself but, in June 2021 I had to close it down,” she said on the GoFundMe page set up to raise money for her treatment.
She also spoke of the sudden impact on her life: “I worked right up until the day I was admitted to hospital, when I became paralysed on the entire left side of my body and had terrible headaches, which affected my eyesight. This resulted in a very sudden stop to me working, and the real struggle to support my family.”
Sylvia explained that the last year has been tough on her sister: “She is very emotional. Her walk is very bad, realistically she should be in a wheelchair, but she refuses to go into one. She has tingling in her hands and feet. Her eyesight is affected, it’s very hard on her. Fatigue is unbelievable.”
At present Jennifer receives Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) the only licensed treatment for early, inflammatory primary progressive MS in Ireland. Her infusions are given every six months. “It’s not to make her better, it’s to stop her from getting a relapse. If Jennifer gets another relapse we don’t know what will be the outcome. The last one put her in the place she is now,” Sylvia explains.
Over €37,000 has already been donated to the ‘Jennifer’s Race to Russia’ appeal - just over half way to the €70,000 target.
“It is absolutely unbelievable,” Sylvia says, “People are just amazing.”
The situation is also difficult for Jennifer’s daughters: “It’s very hard on them. Before this Jennifer brought them to football matches and Irish dancing. Now she can’t drive her car. They’re reliant on people to pick them up and drop them off. It’s tough, particularly as they live in a rural area. Even getting them out to school in the morning is a struggle for Jennifer. Luckily she has some very good neighbours and friends.”
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