The word prison conjures up different images for different people.
For the majority of us, when we think of prison we think of large stone buildings, surrounded by high walls and decorated with iron bars.
For others though, the word prison is one often heard when describing their bodies, this state of imprisonment being brought about by the effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) on them.
A massively debilitating disease in its most severe forms, Canada is a world leader in the prevalence of the condition amongst the population, with Saskatchewan boasting one of the highest rates (340 persons per 100,000 for the Prairie Provinces, according to research) in the country.
"Things had started to go funny for me, and when we were first going in to get a diagnosis, I thought for sure I had a brain tumour," said Wawota resident and MS sufferer Kerry Lee Smulan of her initial brush with the disease in 2002. "When the doctor came to speak to us after all the test results were in, and he told us it was MS, we almost jumped for joy."
"I think we actually high-fived afterward," said Smulan's daughter Megan. "We were so happy it wasn't cancer."
"But a couple of days later I had calmed down and it started to hit me," Smulan said. "'My God, I have MS.'"
At first, Smulan said the symptoms were mild, though she would suffer attacks of symptoms quite regularly that first year.
"It was strange that it was just a couple of weeks after I had the diagnosis that I had my first full-blown attack," Smulan said. "I hadn't been feeling very well up until that point, but it wasn't anything like what happened when that first attack hit me."
"The funny thing was that I did have some events that had happened to me a year before the diagnosis that I think I would've known was MS as soon as I thought about it," Smulan said. "One of my very good friends, Deb Smyth, she was suffering from MS at the time."
"I think if I had really thought about it the entire thing wouldn't have surprised me as much as it did," Smulan said. "I had seen Deb when she was sick and whatnot, but I guess I just kind of had the 'never me' attitude about it."
As the years progressed, like many struck with a debilitating illness, Smulan took the time to educate herself as much as she was able about Multiple Sclerosis.
"I think I signed every book out of the library about it, and I watched every thing I could," Smulan said. "If someone heard there was something on television, they would call me up so I could tune in and watch it."
It was through this vigilance and awareness that Smulan became aware of the work of Italian doctor and husband of an MS sufferer, Dr. Paolo Zamboni.
Dr. Zamboni had discovered during his work with MS that the vast majority of MS patients he and his colleagues examined seemed to have blockages of the veins and arteries in the upper chest, neck, and lower head areas that were feeder vessels to and from the brain.
Dr. Zamboni went on to theorize that these blockages led to blood re-circulating in the brain, and that it was this oxygen deprived blood that was responsible in at least some ways for the effects of the illness.
While Dr. Zamboni admitted in interviews that he doesn't know whether this blockage effect was a symptom of MS or the cause, working with a cardiac surgeon who specilized in angioplasty (the installing of wire-mesh tubing into blocked blood vessels to force them open, usually done close to the heart,) Dr. Zamboni nonetheless pioneered a treatment for the disease, which consisted of angioplasty being used to open the clogged blood vessels that lead to the brain of MS patients.
Dubbed 'The Liberation Procedure' because it 'liberated' the movement of blood to and from the brain, this revolutionary treatment has led to many of those with MS in Canada to consider seeking the treatment out-of-country, as the procedure is not approved at this time for use in Canada.
Smulan is among those hoping to find her own liberation from MS by undergoing the Liberation Procedure.
"I first heard about it when W5 did their story about the treatment," Smulan said. "I was interested right away."
Those that have undergone the treatment claim to have had a marked decrease in MS-related symptoms, though the procedure has faced resistance from some corners, pointing out that long-term studies are needed to confirm the validity of the treatment.
Regardless, Smulan is eager to go ahead with the procedure, even though she will have to travel to the city of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico to get it done.
A quick glance at the website for Clinics of the Heart, the website for the clinic in Cabo San Lucas that is offering the procedure, shows the desperation many MS patients feel with their condition, and their overwhelming desire to undergo the treatment in the hopes that it will help ease their conditions.
Clinic of the Heart is a private medical concern which specializes in heart surgeries, with a focus on foreign patients.
Having only begun offering the Liberation Treatment in June of this year, the open postings on the website feature requests for placement in the surgery list, and prices for the procedure.
In fact, out of the many posts, only two question the competency of the surgeon with the procedure and the long-term effects that can be expected from the surgery.
"The total cost will be around $12,000," Smulan said. "It could be more if they have to use shunts instead of the angioplasty screens."
"They also include in the cost an MRI scan, to determine where the blockages are," Smulan said. "Then we will have to stay in town for a week for the follow-up exam."
To help raise the funds for the trip and surgery, Smulan's sister Kimi Lamontagne is holding a fundraiser lunch at the Wawota Legion Club on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
For the price of $7, you will be treated to lunch of soup, sandwich and dessert, with all proceeds from the sale going to Smulan's surgery costs.
