JEROMESVILLE Heidi Steiber was 27 years old when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body, according to the NationalMultiple SclerosisSociety.

"I've experienced various symptoms," Steiber said. "Loss of vision, my left and right hands and left leg don't work very well."

MS is a progressive ailment, Steiber added, which means the damage the disease causes can not be corrected.

Now, 15 years later, the 42-year-old Steiber is hoping to raise enough money to spend a month in Puebla, Mexico to undergo a hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

HSCT is a transplant of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood.

Steiber applied for a similar program in Chicago, but was turned away because they wanted to research MS patients who have had the disease for 10 or less years.

The treatment will cost $55,000 and will keep Steiber in isolation for a month, she said. The treatment will destroy her immune system after her stem cells are taken from her marrow. After the immune system is removed the stem cells will be replaced into her body. She hopes to make her appointment on June 19 at Clinica Ruiz

"It's like Heidi 2.0 or Heidi rebooted," she joked.

She is using a crowd sourcing website to gather donations. So far, she has been excited by the results in one month, raising $32,000 of the $70,000 she is looking for to pay for her treatments and the following recovery. Steiber said her insurance will not contribute to the medical expenses.

"People have been extremely generous. One of my donators did a matching donation, so I raised $3,000 in a day-and-a-half.

Steiber, now residing in Raleigh, North Carolina, will be heading back to her hometown of Jeromesville to the American Legion for a benefit dinner, May 13. It will run from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

"You know the expression, it takes a village? That's the village they were talking about Jeromesville," the Hillsdale High graduate said. "It's amazing to have people coming together for you."

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Hillsdale grad looks for medical help in Mexico, local support to get there - Richland Source

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