ENFIELD: Angela MacDonald has everything her family’s needs, and she hopes to keep it that way.

She and her family took their concerns to Province House on Nov. 2 with the
group CCSVI in MS for Nova Scotia. The group created a petition and is

pushing for Chronic Cerebro-Spinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) testing

and treatment to come to the province. The term describes decreased

blood flow in neck veins leading to the central nervous system.

MacDonald’s husband, Ricky, has Multiple Sclerosis and will be travelling to Mexico
Dec. 13 to undergo a procedure that he hopes will help prevent his

condition from worsening. Currently, his MS is managed by medication.

“It’s frustrating because Nova Scotia has the highest rate of MS in all of Canada,” said Angela.

An average of 240 per 100,000 people has MS across Canada. For the Atlantic Provinces, that number is 350 per 100,000.

Ricky’s situation is an interesting one. His mother and brother also have MS.
His mother, who is immobile, travelled to Germany to undergo the

angioplasty procedure to clear blockages in neck veins, but decided not

to go through with it. In the advanced stage of her illness, the risks

associated with the procedure outweighed the benefits. This is why Ricky

MacDonald wants to act quickly.

“The medication is helping,” he said, “but even on it, it’s still progressing.”

Maxine LeBlanc-David, who suffered from MS before undergoing the procedure for
CCSVI, had 7,000 signatures on her petition brought to Province House

on Tuesday at the beginning of the sitting of the legislature. This is

the second protest she has orchestrated, and said she plans to continue

until their concerns are heard.

“Some are listening and helping,” she said. “Now at least we have a petition, so any politician who wants
to work with us has backing of a broad case of Nova Scotians who are

pushing for this and are not going to lose interest.”

The MacDonald family will continue to fight.

“We’ll be going to every protest that we know of from now on,” said
Angela MacDonald. “As far as the MS community is concerned, this is the

biggest development, and it’s given people hope.”

The MacDonalds are holding a pool tournament auction fundraiser on Nov. 13 at Shooters,
starting at 3 p.m. There’s a $10 donation to get in.

acano@enfieldweeklypress.com

http://www.enfieldweeklypress.com/stories.asp?id=4520