It is not often people celebrate Christmas in November, but with an upcoming trip to India to receive stem cell treatment, Shelly Irmen had two Christmases with her two children last week.
It is not often people celebrate Christmas in November, but with an upcoming trip to India to receive stem cell treatment, Shelly Irmen had two Christmases with her two children last week.
“It has been a rollercoaster, a complete rollercoaster - every emotion you can possibly imagine I have gone through and it's turned out beautiful and I don't know what the other side is going to look like, ” Irmen said.
After five months of fundraising, with “tremendous support ” from the community, the 44-year-old Cochrane mother battling multiple sclerosis (MS) is heading to India to receive her long awaited stem cell treatment. She flies out on Nov. 18.
“I have never felt so calm and centered since right now I am not judging or analyzing - I'm just being in the now, ” Irmen reflected.
Irmen was diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis in 2003 - symptoms are different for each person and in Irmen's case her disease causes severe tremors, extreme fatigue, memory loss and confusion.
In July, she started a GoFundMe page to for her treatment to help with associated costs such as airfare, hotel, food and for the volunteer helper who will accompany Irmen on her approximately one-month trip.
“It has taken me a year-and-a-half to get to this moment right now, you have no idea, I've been alone a lot of this … I was so lost without my hands and my body working properly, it is very difficult but you can do it, ” Irmen said.
Irmen will be undergoing a non-myeloablative transplant in India where she will have an appointment with the neurologist and go through a series of testing before receiving medication to loosen her bone marrow for the first week. Days 10 through 14, Irmen will go through chemotherapy and receive steroids before the stem cell infusion on day 15.
“I have a lot of ‘I can't wait' - first I want to hug my children without shaking and second I want to brush my daughter's hair, ” Irmen explained.
After the stem cell infusion, Irmen will be in supportive care for up to two weeks before being discharged from the hospital and returning back home.
While there are stem cell treatments in Canada, Irmen previously told the Eagle she was shocked and disappointed to find there are a limited number of options available. Irmen was given medication to treat the tremors but still suffered from severe shaking.
It was five months ago Irmen made the decision to research stem cell treatments outside of North America. Irmen will be undergoing an autologous stem-cell transplantation, where the transplant/infusion uses the person's own stem cells - the cells are collected in advance and returned to replace stem cells that have been damaged by high doses of chemotherapy.
“If I have been taught anything in my life - I am learning every day - that it is better to be in the present rather than the future or past and waste my energy because right now is what I live with, so I better use what I got right now correctly, ” Irmen said.
To follow the mother of two's trip to India, go to Irmen's Facebook page where she will be blogging the details at “Shelly's Journey. ”
