Krysteen Fitzgerald is in training for a half marathon. Though she will be just one of nearly 1,000 runners taking part in the annual Fallen Four event in Whitecourt this spring, there is something singularly remarkable about her participation.

As recently as October 2010, the 28-year old Devon resident suffered from the debilitating symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Like many victims of MS, she was often unable to perform simple tasks, and was easily exhausted by any physical activity. After being given a prognosis including years of expensive treatments, and the possibility of life in a wheelchair, she decided to travel south of the border for a very new, and controversial, treatment.

Liberation Treatment, as it is known, is a phenomenon in the world of MS treatment. It promises rapid recovery to patients like Fitzgerald, for whom the disease can often mean the end of careers and active lives altogether.

"It was in 2008 when I first got my diagnosis," Fitzgerald recounted. "I woke up one morning with significant numbness in my abdomen. I thought maybe it was just a pinched nerve, but no such luck."

The numbness spread across her right side leaving her incapable of performing her duties as an RCMP officer.

"I was unable to unholster my weapon," she said. "I couldn't hold a pen, or a toothbrush. There was very little I could do."

Eventually the paralysis faded, but Fitzgerald, who suffered from a form of the disease that saw symptoms occasionally increase and decrease in severity, still had to deal with residual effects, including a limp, numbness, extreme fatigue, and even occasionally slurred speech.

"If you didn't know that I had MS you would have thought I was drunk," said Fitzgerald, who often relied on help from her boyfriend, fellow RCMP officer Craig Kewley just to get through the day.

When she heard about Liberation Treatment in the fall of 2009, a light went on in the darkness.

"That was the best news I could have heard," she said. "It was so exciting, like a dream come true."

Liberation Treatment takes a radically different approach to treating the disease from those of traditional methods. Discovered by Dr. Paolo Zamboni of Italy, Liberation posits that MS is caused by vein blockages that restrict blood flow draining the central nervous system. Since Zamboni first presented the method in 2008, clinics offering the treatment have become hot destinations for medical tourits. Fitzgerald traveled to Mexico for the procedure, where blocked and narrow veins in her neck and chest were inflated with balloons.

She went to Mexico because medical authorities have banned the practice in Canada, citing a lack of scientific, peer-reviewed studies. Those standing on the side of caution in the matter include the Canadian Institute of Health and Research, Federal Health minister Leona Aglukkaq, and leading medical journals.

Their opposition stems from the fact that Zamboni's research was not conducted in a scientifically rigorous manner, and the risks of the procedure may not yet completely known.

In October 2010, Zamboni himself warned patients against receiving the treatments until further research is conducted. Fitzgerald and Kewley say that overwhelming anecdotal evidence in favour of the procedure, including her own remarkable recovery, ought to be enough to compel the Provincial and Federal governments to take a closer look.

"I hadn't felt my feet in over a year," she said. "Almost immediately (after the procedure) the feeling came back, and my energy came back. Now I feel like I did before I got sick. I am totally free of symptoms.

"Within five days she was on the treadmill, going at a full sprint," said Kewley. "I've lost 12 pounds since she got better just trying to keep up with her. She's pretty competitive."

Now Fitzgerald and Kewley are doing what they can to convince authorities at home to adopt the procedure. MLA George Rogers introduced her to the legislative assembly in December, where she advocated for just that, and received a generally positive response.

Indeed, $1 million has been allocated by the provincial government to track the results of Liberation patients returning from abroad, and committed to funding clinical trials when the procedure has been proven to be safe and ethical. Fitzgerald however said that so far, in her experience, there has been little cooperation between patients and those appointed to conduct the investigations.

"They spent they're entire career thinking this is an auto-immune issue, (rather than a vascular one, as Zamboni asserts it is) so it must be a slap in the face when some doctor in Italy with little training comes up with a procedure that works," said Kewley, who admitted that the treatment has not yet been proven to be a cure.

Fitzgerald's time in the private Star Medica clinic in Merida, Mexico cost her $12,500, plus travel expenses.

Though she lauded the state of the art facilities and professionalism of the medical staff there, she in concerned for the thousands who lack the resources and fundraising abilities to take a similar trip.

"We need this procedure in Canada," she urged.

"It could take up to ten years to do all the tests and trials necessary to make this an approved treatment here, but if I had to wait for that it would have been too late to help me."

She said the treatment works best on younger victims who catch the disease early, and between now and potential approval, too many MS patients will regress to a point beyond the reach of even Liberation.

In the meantime, Fitzgerald and other local MS sufferers, some of whom have also sought the treatment, plan on creating a support group for those still in the clutches of the disease.

"When you are immobile, even a place like Leduc is too far away," she said.

"So we want to set that up here in Devon, where the local patients can benefit from it."

Those interested in joining the group can contact Fitzgerald at 780-236-9797.

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