Merita Needs Your Help to Kick her MS!

 Merita Graddy Hanna, also known as “Mo” to some is a 58 years-old woman who desperately needs your help. Mo was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic degenerative autoimmune disease of the central nervous system marked by destruction of the myelin that surrounds and insulates nerve fibers. Merita has been suffering from MS since 1992, and was diagnosed while working in Texas for the Department of Transportation. She is now retired after 30 years and also on disability. After several years of MS flare-ups, she has finally decided the best way to be mobile is in a power chair, which limits her access to many places; but it also saves her from falls and breaking bones.  Over the years, Merita’s condition has progressed and traditional treatments have failed to halt the progression of her illness.

Merita grew up in Piggott, Arkansas then moved to Dallas, Texas. She returned back to Piggott to retire in order to live closer to family and friends to help her with her disability.  After suffering for many years, the only hope of halting MS in its tracks and prevent further disability to Merita, is by a promising treatment known as Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation or HSCT. This treatment could take place in Chicago’s Northwestern Hospital as part of a clinical trial. However, Merita does not qualify for the study in Chicago and unfortunately has been turned down. She is seeking HSCT treatments out-of-the country, and is now approved for HSCT and on the waitlist for Clinica Ruiz in Mexico.  MS patients are reporting promising and successful results from HSCT at Clinica Ruiz. These include major improvements of MS symptoms, and possibly halting the MS altogether! Merita is ready to “kick her MS”, too!

The cost of HSCT is overwhelming and more than Merita can handle alone. It involves removing her own stem cells using a medical procedure, followed by five days of intense chemotherapy to suppress over 80% of her immune system, and then replacing her stem cells to promote the growth of a new immune system free of the knowledge of MS. Insurance will not cover out of country procedures or those not approved in the United States. As a result, Merita is required to pay for the full cost of the HSCT treatment ($54,000), as well as transportation fees, temporary relocation and housing with living expenses, and costly caregiver fees. These out of pocket expenses and treatment will cost upwards of over $100, 000 and Merita needs your help. A generous and loyal woman who would go out of her way for anyone, now it is time to give back and help Merita during this great time of need.  Merita’s family and friends are banning together to ask for you to please reach out and consider a financial contribution to help Merita receive the treatment she so desperately needs!

To help with the financial burden of Merita Hanna’s uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign in her honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-bases fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Southeast Stem Cell Transplant Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for transplant-related expenses only. Please consider a contribution. For credit card contributions, please visit www.helphopelive.org and search for Merita Hanna or call 1-800-642-8399, Or:

Make checks payable to:                    HelpHOPELive

Note in memo section:                        In honor of Merita Hanna

Please send to: 

HelpHOPELive

2 Radnor Corporate Center

100 Matsonford Road, Suite 100

Radnor PA 19087

Thank you ahead of time for your support, prayers, and generosity. Please keep an eye on Merita’s campaign page, because we will be planning some fundraising events soon and posting updates regularly.

Gratefully,

Marty Renard, friend and Team Mo captain for “Mo’s Revenge on MS”, 573-718-0055

Follow Merita’s journey to an MS free life at www.mosrevengeonms.com

Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law. This campaign is administered by HelpHOPELive, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit providing fundraising assistance to transplant and catastrophic injury patients. Information: 800.642.8399.