Greetings. My name is Ian, and I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, (MS), on February 21, 2001. It’s been 10 years that I have been living with this disease. The cause of MS is unknown, and there is no cure. The symptoms of this disease are numerous. The following link will display a list of common symptoms that affect MS patients.

The problem with MS is there is no known course for this disease either. It is 100% different for every MS patient. Each patient will experience different symptoms for different length of time, different severity, different order of appearance or some symptoms may not even appear. Each new day is an unknown gamble of how that day will turn out.

For myself, I have numbness and tingling in various parts of my body, I have electric burning nerve pain of the surface of my skin on over 60% of my body. I have this nerve pain around the trunk of my body, and it’s triggered by a light touch or a breeze , touch or a t-shirt gently brushing up against the skin. To try and prevent this nerve pain from flairing up too much I wear a down vest and a down parka all the time. The down vest/parka gives a feeling like a portable down comforter that’s very soft.

Because of the nerve pain making it difficult to sleep, I end up taking random 1 to 2 hour naps during the day, awaking never feeling rested. Up until about a month ago, I hadn’t slept in my own bed in over a year because of the surging shocking nerve pain that occurs in my feet and legs while I’m laying in bed. My attempt to sleep in my bed was interrupted once again by the nerve pain in my legs and feet.

I’m 37 years old and live alone. I’m mostly homebound, never really going anywhere unless my father stops by to take me to my parent’s house for dinner a few nights a week. Other than that I end up being on the internet managing a couple MS Support Communities, keeping up on MS related news and communicating with other MS patients.

Since I went onto disability in 2007, I’ve lost 45 lbs of weight, most of that weight is muscle. As time progresses, I’m becoming weaker and can literally see myself wasting away before my eyes. Traditional type therapy is not safe enough for me because of my lack of strength, my poor balance and fatigue and chronic nerve pain. I got myself a Nintendo Wii in hopes that it would help me with some activity, but I can really only use it while sitting down because it’s difficult to keep getting up and sitting down repeatedly.

One day, I came across something that made my eyes light up. It is called an “Endless Pool”, you can read more about them at http://www.endlesspools.com

This would be an absolute fantastic tool for my condition, and it would safely help me improve and/or maintain my muscle mass, muscle function, balance and mobility, so I’m not wasting away while I sit in my house alone.

It would allow me feel that I have a purpose getting up every day, knowing that I have this tool, which will help me physically and also help me mentally.

The Endless Pool is small enough to sit on a patio area behind my home and costs about $20k. I am not expecting one single person to be able to fulfill this need; this is why I’m writing to all of you and asking for your help.

I’ve been attempting to find a way to raise money so I can get this therapy pool, but after 4 years, I haven’t had anyone even reply or donate except a online scammer.

I’ve tried a website online where people can donate to your cause if they would like. I got one response and after emailing back and forth for a few days it turned out to be someone that wanted to scam me with a fake a money order, have me cash it, keep 25% of it, and mail the rest back to them. After I realized what was going on, I just stopped replying and they never wrote again. I would have normally noticed that scam immediately, but the feeling of desperation clouded my judgment.

Staying active, building and maintaining my muscles in my arms and legs will help me keep walking and help me improve my balance as well. I don’t like having to use that cane and that walker thing, but I don’t want to lose the ability to walk.

I’m nervous to ask you for help, but I have a friend who is trying to help raise money for me and insisted (in a good way) that I write this letter. She made me think that by not asking for help, I would be dishonest to myself and to you.

It would be the most caring and compassionate thing anyone has ever done for me, and I would sincerely appreciate your generous gift. After the pool is installed I can update you with some videos of how it’s helping.

If you are able to play a part in helping me get this small therapy pool, it would help with my Multiple Sclerosis, mobility and quality of life.

Thank you so very much for reading this. Hopefully you will be able to make a contribution and help me move forward as I fight this disease.

Thank you, Peace and Love to You.