Barrhaven women reaches out to community in fight against MS.
Pictured with her husband, Jim, Sharon Taylor is a long-time sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis. She has found a new treatment that will help ease her pain and is reaching out to the community for support.
Submitted photo
Sharon Taylor is asking to be liberated.
The mother and professional caregiver was initially diagnosed
with relapsing / remitting Multiple Sclerosis April 29, 2001.
Taylor
suffers from cognitive problems associated with MS and says sometimes it feels
like her head is stuffed with cotton batten.
She can’t talk on the phone for longer than five minutes as
she cannot recall the start of the conversation.
“Many say they have the same issues but they feel much
better after rest or blame it on age,” she said.
Taylor
also suffers from swallowing issues and can sometimes choke on water. She has
problems with balance and walking and sometimes is in so much pain her clothing
can sting her skin and a light breeze burns.
But there is hope.
Sept. 15 Taylor went to Toronto for an ultra
sound Doppler scan and was diagnosed with Chronic Cerebro-Spinal Venous
Insufficiency (CCSVI). This is compromised flow of blood in the veins draining
the central nervous system. Dr. Paulo
Zamboni brought this to the fore front to show a relation with Multiple
Sclerosis.
“This finding has brought hope back into my life,” she said.
But unfortunately, the expensive treatment is not funded
under Canadian health care.
Taylor has managed to get
herself booked for a treatment in Tampa
in December, but the procedure and travel will cost her $14,000.
“Sadly Canada
has let us, MS community, down by claiming insufficient study despite Dr.
Zamboni’s amazing outcomes,” she said.
The so-called Liberation treatment consists of an
angioplasty of the veins and in some circumstances insertion of a stent.
Taylor
doesn’t have the money, but she is hoping to be able to reach out to the
community for help.
A long-time Barrhaven resident, Taylor’s husband is self-employed and she was
on CPP since her diagnosis and is now working part time to make ends meet.
“I love what I do. I
fear having it taken away due to MS,” she said. “I am now in the secondary
progressive stage and still progressing and with the current treatment system;
no hope of improving. Being pro-active, I need to take action now as I fear in
the near future; life in an upright position will be a thing of the past. As MS
creeps through my brain and spine it is taking away my quality of life.”
The journey started in 2001 with a loss of vision in her
right eye and depth perception in her left.
She also has severe muscle spasms mostly in her legs.
“I do get them in the muscles between my ribs frequently;
this is called the MS Hug,” she said. “I am on medication to calm these but for
the most part it does nothing.”
Taylor
is devestated by her lack of ability to do the things she loves. She ran a
daycare out of her home from 1991 to the time MS forced her to close her doors.
She believes in her community and spent countless hours at parent teacher
association meetings and volunteering at the Carleton Lodge. The send “Share to
Tampa”
fundraiser will be held at the Barrhaven Legion on Nov. 20, starting at 7:30
p.m.
There will be live entertainment as well as a 50/50 draw and
silent auction. For those who wish to make a donation for Sharon’s trip, they can go to and TD Bank and
put funds in her in-trust account 2831-6404941.
jennifer.mcintosh@metroland.com