Countdown to Moscow

Well, at last I am all set for my trip to Moscow. The visa to visit Russia is safely in my possession and I leave one week tomorrow, Sunday October 9.

The London trip is the main reason that no new blogs have been posted in the last few days. You see, as a British citizen I had to return from Spain to London to make the formal application; bit of a pain but all done now and safely home again.

Waiting for me in Moscow; Dr Denis Fedorenko with assistant Anastasia Panchenko.

The other reason for the lack of new 55shadesofun.com posts has been that what spare time I had in London was taken by my new responsibilities at Multiple Sclerosis News Today. In fact, I am now managing editor responsible for all columnists across all 50 disease-specific websites – not just MS.

But back to the trip to Russia! I will be staying at the AA Maximov HSCT centre in Moscow where they will conduct a series of tests and medical assessments over four days, to determine whether I am likely to benefit by having the stem cell therapy at a later date.

The assessments will establish the current state of multiple sclerosis within my central nervous system and evaluate the likely affect that my other medical conditions may, or may not, have.

I have no idea of the exact programme of tests that will be undertaken but guess it will be fairly intensive and there may not be much spare time. Still my hope is to meet patients currently at various stages of their treatments and to write about my experiences.

Additionally, as it will be my very first journey to Russia, I hope to see some of the city’s major landmarks – at least from the outside.

It is all very exciting, particularly the medical aspect. Multiple sclerosis progression needs to be stopped in its tracks – and HSCT can do exactly that.

 

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