Multiple sclerosis has robbed Dave Stevenson of many joys in life, but the 56-year-old Brantford resident feels that he's been given a second chance after undergoing treatment last month to open blocked veins in his neck.

"I'd love to play baseball again. I feel in my mind I'm capable of doing it," he said, exuberant after having treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) at a vascular clinic in Rhode Island.

MS patient finds hope after treatment in U.S.

Local News

By HEATHER IBBOTSON

Updated 3 hours ago

Multiple sclerosis has robbed Dave Stevenson of many joys in life, but the 56-year-old Brantford resident feels that he's been given a second chance after undergoing treatment last month to open blocked veins in his neck.

"I'd love to play baseball again. I feel in my mind I'm capable of doing it," he said, exuberant after having treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) at a vascular clinic in Rhode Island.

Stevenson, who owns and operates Alpha Waterworks, is still a long way from taking to the field but he is motivated by a new sense of optimism.

He continues to deal with the drop-foot syndrome that afflicts some MS patients, giving him a somewhat unsteady gait, but he believes that a regimen of physiotherapy to rebuild muscle tissue in his right foot and leg will do wonders.

"I realize it's going to be a long road," he said.

Stevenson is among a multitude of MS patients across Canada who have sought treatment for CCSVI in an attempt to alleviate or halt MS symptoms.

The idea that constricted veins in the neck which interfere with blood flow from the brain might be linked to MS symptoms was championed by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni and publicized in 2009.

Opening of constricted veins for MS patients is a procedure not currently available in Canada and patients are flocking to clinics and hospitals around the world that do offer the treatment.

Stevenson was diagnosed with MS in 1989, but the illness first struck him in 1980 at the age of 26.

One morning, after an evening of playing hockey, Stevenson simply could not get out of bed. His arms and legs didn't seem to work and he had blurry, double vision. After a week of tests in a London hospital, he was sent home without any answers and told to "live with it," he said.

Within a few days he was "99% normal again" but found that his fine motor control was off just enough to force him to abandon playing sports such as baseball, he said.

No one said the word 'MS'" until 1989 when he had an MRI, Stevenson said.

His condition worsened about five years ago when he was faced with a series of personal losses and setbacks that placed him under severe stress.

"Stress is the worst thing in the world for someone with MS," he said.

Stevenson's mobility problems and weak right hand forced him to give up playing golf three years ago.

Last fall, he read an article in The Expositor about Brantford resident Dawn Skinner, who was planning to undergo CCSVI treatment in New York state. Skinner urged him to arrange for a venogram to test for vein blockages, despite Stevenson having earlier undergone an ultrasound that revealed no problems.

Stevenson contacted a clinic in Rhode Island and, thanks to a cancellation, was admitted on Dec. 20. Tests there revealed multiple blockages and Stevenson had the procedure to widen the veins.

His experience was not as rosy as Skinner's was; it was lengthy and uncomfortable and left him with a massive bruise across his upper thigh and hip. Still, the procedure -and the $7,000 price tag -was worth it, he said.

Later that night at his hotel, Stevenson realized he wasn't tired and he says he has not experienced any fatigue since.

"I can get up earlier, work all day and stay up late," he said.

He also says he can sense improvement in his mobility even though it may not yet be apparent to others.

"To me it's like night and day," he said.

Stevenson says he will be working on a two-year plan "to get back to a semblance of normalcy" because he knows that rebuilding muscle tissue will take time.

Friends who did not know he underwent the treatment told him that he seems more energetic and upbeat, and less stressed.

"If I never get any better than I am today, it would be worth it but I know with physiotherapy my mobility will improve with time," Stevenson said.

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