Children's nurse, 29, forks out £40,000 for multiple sclerosis therapy in MEXICO

A nurse who was told her condition wasn't serious enough for NHS treatment ended up paying £40,000 for life-saving surgery in Mexico. 

Clare Mullarkey, 29, has travelled to the American nation for stem cell therapy in a bid to treat her multiple sclerosis.

She says she had been denied the same treatment in the UK last year because she didn't meet the NHS's criteria. 

Suffering from the relapsing form of the nerve-damaging condition, Ms Mullarkey has had severe bouts of illness which have left her struggling to walk.

Afraid she would be reliant on a wheelchair by the time she turns 30, the paediatric nurse decide to take matters into her own hands and go to Mexico for the treatment with the help of crowd-funding.

Clare Mullarkey, originally from the Republic of Ireland but now living and working in Birmingham, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 22 

Clare Mullarkey, originally from the Republic of Ireland but now living and working in Birmingham, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 22 

After being told her illness wasn't active enough for her to qualify for NHS treatment, Ms Mullarkey took matters into her own hands and is paying more than £40,000 to have it in Mexico

After being told her illness wasn't active enough for her to qualify for NHS treatment, Ms Mullarkey took matters into her own hands and is paying more than £40,000 to have it in Mexico

Ms Mullarkey, who is from County Kildare in the Republic of Ireland and works at Birmingham Children's Hospital, is in Mexico at the moment being treated.

She is having haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), which works by destroying and rebuilding a patient's immune system.

Multiple sclerosis, with which Ms Mullarkey was diagnosed when she was 22, is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system damages nerves in the brain and spine.

'I saw a programme on the BBC about this stem cell treatment, and it gives you hope,' Ms Mullarkey told the Birmingham Mail.

'It looked really promising – finally news that there was a treatment out there that could work!

'I'd already had three failed treatments, so it was exciting to hear about something that was actually stopping MS in its tracks in 80 per cent of people.'

WHAT IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS?

Multiple sclerosis (known as MS) is a condition in which the immune system attacks the body and causes nerve damage to the brain and spinal cord.

It is an incurable, lifelong condition. Symptoms can be mild in some, and in others more extreme causing severe disability.

MS affects 2.3 million people worldwide - including around 400,000 in the US, and 100,000 in the UK.

It is more than twice as common in women as it is in men. A person is usually diagnosed in their 20s and 30s.

The condition is more commonly diagnosed in people of European ancestry. 

The cause isn't clear. There may be genes associated with it, but it is not directly hereditary. Smoking and low vitamin D levels are also linked to MS. 

Symptoms include fatigue, difficulty walking, vision problems, bladder problems, numbness or tingling, muscle stiffness and spasms, problems with balance and co-ordination, and problems with thinking, learning and planning.

The majority of sufferers will have episodes of symptoms which go away and come back, while some have ones which get gradually worse over time.

Symptoms can be managed with medication and therapy.

The condition shortens the average life expectancy by around five to 10 years.

Ms Mullarkey said she felt 'let down' by the NHS's decision to not offer her the treatment in England and decided to raise the $56,000 (£42,283) for private therapy. 

'My consultant

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