A Need for Brain Power—and Bucks
The only thing threatening to hold back the Tisch trial right now is money: Surprisingly, the major MS nonprofit organizations have not yet stepped up to the plate to fund this particular stem cell research. Up to now, Tisch has relied on private, grassroots fundraising—much of it spearheaded by dedicated Sadiq patients such as Liz Maslow Montesano, a Rhinebeck resident who was diagnosed with MS 13 years ago and who will have her own stem cells harvested on July 24. The former co-owner of a wedding photography business with her husband, Montesano (who, like many MS patients, has had to stop working) has struggled with considerable disability in her left leg; daily challenges have ranged from walking and putting on her clothes to symptoms such as pins-and-needles pain, numbness, and a crushing fatigue that comes and goes. Cognitively, she's clear, "and that's a gift to me," she says. In addition to fundraising for Tisch, she also mentors newly diagnosed MS patients: "I walk them through the first part of the journey and maybe alleviate some of their fears. I let them take a look at me and see that even though there's a disability, I'm still here. I have the greatest doctor in the world and the greatest support team."
Every case of MS is different—many people get around in wheelchairs and some lose their eyesight and other vital functions, while an increasing number of relapse-remit patients do extremely well with today's available medicines and may never become diasbled. As for the stem cell developments that are brewing right here in New York, Montesano views them with what she calls "guarded optimism." Broun, her friend, permits herself to dream big. "If I keep walking, I promise I'll tap dance naked down Tinker Street," she says. "With Sadiq, with yoga, with stem cells—I'm totally going to win."
To donate, visit Tischms.org.
RESOURCES
International Multiple Sclerosis Management Practice Imsmp.org
Tisch MS Research Center of New York Tischms.org
