If I can dodge the bullets in Baghdad, then I'll certainly never give in to MS
Canon Andrew White firmly believes in mind over matter, not least when it comes to his own health.

He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, when he was 33 and two years ago became so unwell, that his family and friends feared he would not see the year through.

He, however, refused to be cowed.

'The ethos of my life is DON'T GIVE IN - whatever anyone says,' he says.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, causing problems with muscle control, vision and balance.

About one in 1,000 people in the UK develop MS and it mostly strikes young adults between 20 and 40. It is incurable and treatment is usually confined to relieving its symptoms.

Instead of taking life at an easier pace, Canon White chose to devote himself to what must be one of the most arduous and dangerous jobs in the world. He is Vicar of St George's Church in Baghdad, the only Anglican church in Iraq which has thrived under his charismatic leadership.

He is also president of The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, an organisation he founded to promote inter-faith relations and work towards resolving the religious conflict between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. He has become one of a small number trusted by virtually every side.

Being a Christian in Iraq is dangerous in itself and his church, in a compound just outside the Green Zone, is regularly bombed. There have been countless threats on his life and if he travels to another part of the city, he is protected by guards in armoured vehicles.

It is a knife-edged, hectic existence that would physically, psychologically and emotionally exhaust the fittest, let alone someone who has to run a parallel battle with an incurable disease. But Canon White is no ordinary man. He stands 6ft 3in tall and is broad of stature.

'I won't let MS stop me,' he says. It is why, when he finally admitted he felt ill, he decided two years ago to be a guinea pig for a course of revolutionary-stem-cell treatment which is available in Baghdad, though not yet in the UK. To his great relief it has changed his life.

'I felt better after one treatment,' he says fingering his blue prayer beads.

'I have since had 17 more treatments without any side effects. How ironic that Baghdad is ahead of the UK in this modern treatment.'

Canon White was talking in his book-lined study at his home in Liphook, Hampshire, during one of his brief visits to see his wife Caroline, a former solicitor whom he married in 1992, and their sons Jacob, 11, and Josia, 14. He is a dapper dresser and, when he isn't preaching, wears coloured bow ties and colour co-ordinated pocket silk handkerchiefs rather than his clerical collar.

He grew up in Bexley, Kent, trained as a doctor and was working at St Thomas' Hospital in London when, in 1986, he felt called to become a priest.

He says: 'I studied theology at Cambridge University and Nicholas de Lange, the Professor of Hebrew, became the most influential person in my life. He inspired my interest in Judaism and subsequently Islam.

'Most people are either pro-Israel or pro-Arab but I am pro both. After Cambridge I went to Israel and spent some time studying at an ultra orthodox yeshiva (an institute devoted to the study of Jewish texts) in Jerusalem.'

He was ordained in 1990 and eight years later became the youngest canon in the Church of England. He was installed as the Resident Canon of Coventry Cathedral and Director of the International Centre for Reconciliation but three weeks later received his chilling diagnosis.

The timing coincided almost to the day with his wife giving birth to their second son. 'I was upset for about one hour. Then I thought I have to get on with life,' he says. 'I was in hospital at the time and Caroline transferred to mine to have our son so that I could be at the birth.

'I was given conventional medication, but it didn't work so I tried goat's serum injections,' he says.

Serum is a component of blood, in this case taken from goats that have been inoculated to develop antibodies to MS.

'It helped for a few weeks,' he says. 'Although the illness soon became part of my life, I didn't think about it much and just kept going.' This included regular trips to Iraq, at the invitation of Saddam Hussein's deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, himself a Christian.

In 2003, after several years as special envoy to the Middle East for the then Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, the Church of England told him he was too unwell to have a parish. He responded with characteristic defiance.

'I had been to Baghdad several times and thought, "Right I'll go and live and work there." I wasn't devastated. I don't get devastated.' Inevitably with time, his deteriorating condition made inroads into his iron determination.

'By 2008 I was struggling with many classic symptoms,' he says. 'My vision was very blurred and my balance was terrible. I couldn't do two things at once such as walk across a room while holding a cup of tea. I felt extremely tired and when I wasn't at a meeting I would go to bed.

'I also began slurring my words so much that after I had spoken on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme listeners wrote that I had obviously been drunk. I was particularly upset as, apart from tiny amounts of ceremonial wine, I have never drunk alcohol in my life.'

It was shortly after his radio broadcast that his friend Dr Abdul Majeed, a professor of haematology at Baghdad Medical City, the capital's main teaching hospital, suggested he volunteer for an untried stem cell treatment.

'I agreed to be the first person to test it in Baghdad because I had nothing to lose,' he says. 'The Army and police ferried me to and from the hospital about four miles away.

'Ironically, during Saddam Hussein's day, I had raised funds for a bonemarrow transplant unit in the hospital. Dr Majeed ran it and when I arrived I discovered that was where I was to be treated as an outpatient.'

The process he received is known as plasmapheresis, a blood purification procedure that is used in the UK to treat several auto-immune diseases including some types of leukaemia.

However, it is not yet used for MS as the research is still in the experimental stage and there have been insufficient clinical trials to prove its effectiveness.

Meanwhile, at Baghdad Medical City, blood was taken from a vein in Canon White's right arm and circulated through a machine that is known as a cell separator and is similar to one used for kidney dialysis.

It removed the plasma and cells from his blood, then returned the rest of the blood back into his body via a vein in his left arm. The gathered stem cells were subsequently injected into his lumbar spine.

'Although the injection hurt, the next morning I felt totally different and for the first time in years didn't feel ill,' he says. 'I could clean my teeth, which had become extremely difficult for me. Nor was I slurring my words nearly as badly.

'I have since had 17 monthly treatments and not suffered a single side effect. As my own blood is used, there are no rejection problems.

'I also have more energy, am much less grumpy, and can see much better but so far, sadly, it hasn't improved my balance. Dr Majeed is now experimenting by injecting the stem cells near my brain stem.'

The particular area in the brain that is involved in balance is the 'cerebellum' or brain stem, which is situated at the back of the brain where it joins the spinal cord. Canon White meanwhile remains 'happy to be a guinea pig'.

He also takes a variety of vitamins, Benadryl to help his balance, and orders patches of Prokarin, a special blend of histamine and caffeine, from America that he puts on his stomach to boost his energy. The combination has enabled him to write four books and win countless prizes for his peace-making efforts.

Many MS sufferers find their symptoms worsen in the heat and when they are under stress but Canon White stands apart from the norm. 'I feel better if I am hot, and can cope with temperatures up to 50C (122F). It was 58C (136F) in Baghdad this year, which was a bit much, as the electricity that runs the air conditioning is spasmodic.

'As for the effects of stress, the British Medical Journal published a report from Israel a few years ago that was compiled when Saddam Hussein was sending over Scud missiles. It discovered that people with MS improved rather than got worse when their lives were threatened.

'It is something to do with the endorphins released in the brain, but means it is good for me to be in a war zone.

'The church is not just about worship, it provides food, clothes and health care. We have three doctors and three dentists in our clinic. Most of our patients are Muslim and we are delighted about that.'
He pauses. 'If I hadn't had MS I wouldn't have gone to live in Baghdad, so it has all been for a purpose.'

Source: Daily Mail © Associated Newspapers Ltd (28/11/12)