Four years ago, you would never have known by looking at her that Karrie Harcourt had Multiple Sclerosis (MS).Today, at age 34, it's all too clear. She needs a cane to help her walk. She has memory problems and some communication issues. And she is in constant pain.Diagnosed seven years ago with progressive MS, Harcourt said she was fine for the first little while. Then about three years ago, she moved to British Columbia to live with a cousin. She loved it there, she said, but had to come back home after just a short while. Her MS had become so bad she could not talk, and could no longer eat."I went downhill big time."Harcourt once lived in Humboldt, and still has a wealth of family in the area. But she and her parents, Kevin and Marg, have lived at Manitou Beach and Watrous for the past number of years.Though Karrie still lives on her own in low-income housing in Watrous, she is dependent on her parents for a lot that she needs, and she lives on medication for her MS, including morphine for the pain.What is life like for her now?Harcourt put it this way. Her parents bought her a gorgeous new bed so that she is comfortable at night, and when she has bad days. But she has to use a stool to get in and out of it.Getting anywhere these days is slow and difficult, she said. She uses a cane, and a scooter on days that she feels she can drive it."It's awful," she said of her battle with MS.MS is slowly taking away her independence."I love living by myself," she said. "But I always have to call my Mom and Dad - 'would you please pick me up to get groceries', 'would you please do this for me..' and on and on. I'm dependent on (them for) everything," she said.Her parents are her support system, she noted. They built a new house a couple of years ago after their home burned down, and they built it both with their daughter and their old age in mind. It's completely wheelchair accessible. Some days, her MS is so bad, Harcourt can't get out of bed. On the day of her interview with the Journal, Harcourt not only was able to get out of bed, but to take a shower beforehand, something she can't always do.Because of her condition, Harcourt is no longer able to work. She once operated the gas station at Manitou Beach and spent years waitressing at area bars, and at her parents' diner at Manitou."I loved waitressing.... Now, I can't even do that."She can no longer read, she said, because of her memory issues. "By the time I'm done a page, it's gone," she said."It's taking everything from me."She is able to watch television, she noted, and visits with friends when they come by. But she can't go out to meet them, as she no longer has a drivers' licence.Her cell phone is her lifeline. She takes it with her everywhere and relies on it to not only contact people but remind her of things when she forgets.Harcourt is hoping to go to Poland to undergo a treatment that many who suffer from MS are seeking these days. Harcourt and many others who have MS were given hope last year when an Italian doctor named Dr. Paulo Zamboni came up with a new theory and treatment for what he calls Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI).Zamboni's theory is that in people with CCSVI, the venous system is not able to efficiently remove blood from the central nervous system, due to the narrowing of small venous structures in the neck, chest and spine. It is believed to cause build ups of iron in the brain that eventually causes lesions and MS symptoms to develop.The answer to this issue, then, is to develop substitute circles of venous blood vessels in an attempt to help drainage from the central nervous system.Zamboni's suggested method to combat CCSVI is to perform an angioplasty, a surgery to improve blood flow in narrow or obstructed vessels. It's not a cure for MS, but has shown, in some people, to relieve some symptoms.Controversy still surrounds this treatment, due to an inconsistency of results. But MS sufferers the world over are seeking it. CCSVI treatment has yet to be approved in Canada, which is why many people, including some from the Humboldt area, have gone out of the country to get it done.Harcourt was inspired to go by the story of Val Hoenecke from Rosetown, who came out to speak to her MS support group. At the meeting, Hoenecke stood up, on her own, without any help, which amazed Harcourt and others there, as it was something she wasn't able to do before receiving the surgery."Most of the people there were thinking, 'That'd be fricking awesome'," Harcourt said, adding that most of them are now considering seeking this treatment. Though Canadians with MS can and have received this treatment in places like Poland, it does cost them a lot of money. Harcourt estimates a trip out of the country would cost her around $15,000 in travel and medical costs. That's money she doesn't have, as she's unable to work due to her condition. So while she's on the waiting list for the surgery in Poland, Bulgaria and Albany, New York, she and her family are fund-raising to help mitigate that cost.Her father, Kevin, is currently organizing a fund-raiser in conjunction with the golf course at Manitou Beach, and they're asking for donations from family and friends to help get Karrie overseas to get this treatment.A Watrous accountant is looking after the funds, Harcourt noted - he's set up a special account for her trip. Anything left over from her costs, she noted, she'd like to pass on to someone else wanting to travel to get this surgery done."I'd love to be able to help some of the girls (I know with MS) go, too, or guys, too," she said. Whatever it takes, Harcourt is committed to getting this treatment."I'll go get it done. If it only lasts for a week, I don't care," she said. Anything that lets her walk without a cane, if just for a short while, would be worth it, she feels. "If it lets me get rid of this hell, seriously.... If they say it can't be fixed, fine. It's just that chance," she said."I want to take it."If she could just shower standing up, or be able to cook her own meals, it would be absolutely amazing to her, she said. She may not have her drivers' licence anymore, she noted, but she does have her passport. And if her name comes to the top of any list, she's going.It's exciting, she said with a smile, to think of what it could do for her."To get my life somewhat normal... I don't care if it doesn't work totally. It gives me that little chance."There are 47 countries around the world that currently perform this procedure, Harcourt said, but Canada is not one of them. Saskatchewan is moving in the right direction, many feel, as the province recently announced that it would fund clinical trials of the procedure. But the surgery is not yet offered here."I appreciate what (Premier Brad) Wall has done for us," Harcourt noted. "I just really wish I could get the surgery here."'
