“I am going into this with my eyes open. I understand the risks, but there are risk with any medical procedure,” Nestmann-Dawnson says. “But I
have to believe the big guy upstairs has my back, and this is what I am

supposed to do.”

The Grimsby mother will fly to Costa Rica in March for a medical procedure to treat multiple sclerosis. She will undergo the operation at
the Clinica Biblica Hospital, the same facility that preformed it on

35-year-old Mahir Mostic, who died Oct. 16 from complications stemming

from the operation, according to the CBC.

While Nestmann says Mostic’s death is tragic, it isn’t going to stop her.

“Any chance and improving my life, of being able to see my child walk down the aisle, I am going to take,” she says.

The operation in question is called “liberation treatment” by MS patients. It treats chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or
CCSVI. The Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni, said in November that reduced

red blood flow to the brain because of CCSVI may be associated with MS,

an illness that attacks the brain and spinal cord.

Zamboni’s idea is that CCSVI could cause an iron overload in the brain and spinal cord, causing MS. Through angioplasty, a procedure that
expands obstructed veins with a balloon, he says the condition of MS

patients can be improved.

In about 40% of patients, the veins eventually return to their previous condition. Some surgeons will put a stent in the vein to keep
it expanded, a procedure Zamboni doesn’t recommend.

The efficacy of the procedure is still being studied and presently is it not a procedure approved for use in Canada.

William Tennyson, client services co-ordinator for the Niagara Peninsula Chapter of Hope of the MS Society, says there are nine clinic
studies ongoing in North America with the first results expected in

March or April.

Tennyson said the MS Society doesn’t tell people not to get liberation treatment, but tries to ensure they have all the information
they need to make a decision.

“The question we get most often is ‘What would you do?’ but it’s not my place to say,” says Tennyson, who knew Mostic. “What to do is
support our clients.”

Although liberation treatment lacks scientific evidence, many MS patients are willing to take a chance, and spend thousands of dollars,
if the treatment can relieve symptoms that range from loss of motor

control to extreme fatigue. In serious cases, such as Mostic’s, MS can

rob a person of their ability to walk.

While the efficacy of the treatment is still being examined, the use of stents is controversial because they can cause blood clots. In
Mostic’s case, the blood clots from the stent formed after he returned

to Niagara. He returned to Costa Rica where he was treated with blood

thinners.

Dr. Marcial Fallas, a vascular surgeon at Clinica Biblica told CBC the powerful meds may have triggered internal bleeding.

Tennyson said the stent is not a popular option for most Niagara MS patients considering the treatment.

“The stents were designed for arteries, not veins. Most just opt for the balloon,” he says

Nestmann-Dawson suffered with MS for six years, with the last two being the worst.

“I can’t do up my own buttons anymore, I’ve lost so much fine motor control,” she says. “I don’t drink, but the fatigue is so much I feel
like I am drunk.”

She isn’t getting a stent and knows the procedure might not work.

“We’re told there is a 30% to 40% change it won’t work,” she said of the treatment which will cost her $18,000.

She says anyone doing this must arrange for after surgery care in Canada before leaving country. She has already arranged for
physiotherapy and regular check ups with her neurologist when she

returns to Niagara.

It is not clear what kind of after care Mostic made arrangements for in Canada. The CBC reported that Mostic’s friends raised $8,000 US to
send him back to Costa Rica after they had trouble getting a specialist

to see him in Canada.

Officials at the Niagara Health System say they cannot discuss a patient’s case because of privacy rules and would not confirm or deny if
Mostic went to the hospital after he came back to Canada.

Anne Atkinson, NHS vice-president of patient services, said anyone who arrives at the emergency room is assessed and treated even if they
had previous medical procedures done in another country.

If the NHS doesn’t have the facilities or staff to treat a patient, they are referred to the specialist or hospital that can, she said.

http://liberationtreatmentccsvi.com/2010/11/ms-death-won%E2%80%99t-deter-grimsby-woman-from-seeking-treatment/