New hurdle in dying mum's fight to live
Battling Devon mum Jo Smith is to face yet another hurdle in her bid for treatment.
She now faces a 10-day trip to America for special tests after her doctor told her she wasn't fit enough to fly.
Mum of one Jo, from Exeter, will have to travel by ship and over land instead.
Jo is the only person in the world with two rare terminal conditions where treating one would mean the other will kill her.
The 37-year-old suffers from a blood vessel disorder called pulmonary hypertension and has lymphatic cancer. Baffled doctors say that the odds of suffering from both is over 5 billion-to-one.
Jo, who lives near Stoke Cannon, needs a heart and lung transplant to have any hope of beating her PH. But she can’t be put on a waiting list for the lifesaving organs until she is cancer-free for five years.
Previous attempts to save Jo have so far proved unsuccessful, including flying to Thailand to receive medical treatment which did not materialise, and appealing to the public for suggestions of help.
But her hopes were raised when an opportunity came to visit renowned scientist Thomas Incledon who will vcarry out tests to find out the root cause of her illness and devise an individualised treatment plan.
However, she needs to raise £70,000 to make the trip and pay the medical fees.
Below is Jo's latest blog:
So I knew that getting from the UK to Arizona may be a bit of a challenge but I didn't realise quite how difficult/ nearly impossible it would be. I know I'm very poorly but somehow I manage to convince myself that I can do things that 'normal' people can do.. Apparently not.
We looked at flights and found we could get there on a direct flight in 10.5 hours for roughly £1500. I spoke to my specialist doctor about what I would need oxygen-wise and that's when he dropped the bombshell and told me that I was not 'fit to fly'.
I was a high risk patient and the effects of the altitude and distance of the flight could, in his words, be 'potentially catastrophic'. Well that didn't sound good!
So the other option was sea. Rather than 10 hours on a plane this journey was becoming somewhat of a mission and would now be 10+ days travelling via cruise liner, train, coach and taxi.
But nothing in this whole health adventure from the start has been easy or straightforward. On the plus side it's worked out to be no more expensive than the flight would have been and it doesn't look too shabby either ;)
I can't say that I'm looking forward to 7 nights at sea, 3 days on a train and hours on a coach but I will be using my wheelchair and oxygen and I know that my guardian angel, Lacey (in case you didn't know) will make sure I get there safely and look after me every step of the way.
Please think of us and wish us lots of luck, but mostly Lacey who will have to contend with me in a wheelchair and 2 suitcases. I can see it now!!
We leave on the 5th November.. Arriving in Arizona 16th November.
I have so much will to live and determination to get there that I WILL do this. I just wish that I had the breath and the energy to match my enthusiasm. This is my last hope, my last attempt and it has got to work.
I am a little bit scared of the travelling but excited about the destination and the outcome.
I am going to desperately miss Rudey Roo but he will be joining me THE MINUTE we are settled.
This is actually happening and I can't thank you all enough. I don't know how too, you're all amazing.
I have been speaking to Thomas Incledon a lot over the last week and just want to be there now, but we have a loooooong journey ahead.
Lots of love xxxxxx
See also I AM DYING PLEASE HELP ME... http://www.theexeterdaily.co.uk/news/local-news/i-am-dying-please-help-me
