Becky Doughty was just 26 when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Suddenly, her whole future – her dreams of being a doctor, and having a family – seemed uncertain.
Her symptoms had begun as painful pins and needles and tightness around her chest and spasms which led to some frightening and unpleasant episodes.
“I remember while driving to London with my sister, when we stopped at a service station I went in to get a coffee and collapsed,” says Becky, now 44 from Sheffield. “I couldn’t walk and was stumbling around trying to grab on to the wall. Not a single person stopped to offer help.”
A series of tests confirmed she had MS – a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system, that has no cure.
Being diagnosed was, she says, a really dark period of her life. “All my life, I’ve wanted to be a doctor. I was so close to achieving that. I wondered if I’d ever be able to get married and have children and what would happen to me. It felt like everything I had worked for could get taken away.”
An estimated 2.9 million people are living with the condition, and it’s generally more common in women. Symptoms can include extreme fatigue, vision problems, cognitive changes, muscle weakness or spasms and difficulty walking or with balance.
The most common type of MS is relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) which affects about 85 per cent of people, and is what Becky has.
As a medic, she was painfully aware that, though certain medications could help manage the symptoms and delay its progress, she would have MS for life.
By the age of 39, she says, “I had to use an electronic split and walking poles to help me walk properly and a wheelchair when I lost the ability to put any pressure down on my foot.”
But she did not give up, and successfully completed her medical training, beginning a career as a GP – even though she’d often come home and collapse with exhaustion at the end of each day.
Becky had always wanted children but didn’t want her kids to have to end up caring for her.
When she was 34, during a break from her medications, she and her husband decided to try for a baby – their daughters were born in 2016 and 2017.
Although she loved being a mother Becky lived in constant fear of a relapse, and after contracting Long Covid in 2020, her health began to deteriorate again.
Doughty: “The transplant has helped make me feel more stable. I even wore high heels for the fundraising ball I organised for AIMS”“I couldn’t sit down without having spasms and I couldn’t stand up because my legs were so weak,” she says.
In 2021, at the age of 40, Becky made the heartbreaking decision to take early retirement from the job she adored.
“I really loved my job.. Having one-to-one time with patients who trust you is such a privilege. I was devastated to have to give it all up.”
In 2023, Becky had a check-up appointment and MRI scan with her consultant which showed two new lesions on her brain. “My consultant said, I think perhaps we need to think about another treatment. What about a stem cell transplant?”
Becky didn’t know much about it, but after a series of relapses, including one where she lost the vision in her left eye, she knew she had to do something.
Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, also known as blood and marrow transplantation, involves replacing unhealthy blood cells with healthy ones by using stem cells, usually sourced from the patient’s bone marrow or peripheral blood. This resets the patient’s immune system, to stop it attacking the spinal cord and brain.
It takes place over several months and usually involves a hospital stay of three weeks although the recovery process can take up to a year.
The treatment has been available for some time, but Becky’s NHS trust is working on a world-first trial, in partnership with the University of Sheffield, into using stem-cell transplantation as a first-line treatment for patients with ‘aggressive’ MS.
The £2.3m trial, which was launched in 2022, builds on the findings of a previous trial which shows the treatment can reverse disability in certain MS patients.
“HSCT involves aggressive chemotherapy, to wipe out the faulty immune system cells that are attacking the brain and spinal cord,” says James Coates, co-founder of the charity Auto Immune & Multiple Sclerosis (AIMS), who had a stem cell implant for MS in 2016.
“This is followed by re-infusion of the patient’s previously collected stem cells to help regrow a new immune system for the patient.”
square LIFESTYLE Life lessonsI'm a gut health expert - you should spend money on olive oil not supplements
Read More
Professor Basil Sharrack, consultant neurologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the lead trial neurologist of the StarMS trial, says it offers new hope for people with relapsing MS that is not controlled by medication, and progressive MS who have ongoing evidence of active inflammation. “Clinical trials so far suggest that HSCT may be able to reduce relapses and to stabilise or reduce the level of disability for some people with MS.”
Becky began the treatment in May 2024, and says it was a “brutal” process. “The main side effects for me were nausea and vomiting, pain from the injections – then there was the fatigue, hair loss, mouth ulcers and having to follow a strict diet for three months.”
After her stem cells were harvested, she had five days of chemotherapy and then the transplant itself in July.
But the effects have been life changing. She is now able to walk unaided.
“The transplant has definitely helped make me feel more stable. I even wore high heels for the fundraising ball I organised for AIMS. It’s the first time in years I’ve been able to wear them!” she says.
Becky has taken her daughters to see the Strictly Tour, enjoyed lots of trips to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park and booked a trip to Lapland for this Christmas – all things she would not have been able to consider before.
“The best bit was probably dancing to the “Locomotion” with my girls at the Kylie concert,” she says.
However, Becky is not cured – she still suffers with symptoms including fatigue, impaired vision and balance problems. “Things have improved but I’ll never go back to normal. Some days I can’t hold my arms up to brush the girls’ hair.”
Scientific advances are continuing to improve the outlook for MS patients – a team at the University of Birmingham are studying whether a natural treatment method – using a patient’s own “good” stem cells – could even replace the need for a transplant itself.
However, not all MS patients are offered stem cell transplants as a treatment option.
Coates, says there is a postcode lottery for access to it.
“In some places, for example, you have to have active lesions on your brain. It also depends partly on whether the neurologist knows about the treatment and how risk averse they are.”
He and his wife, Alison set up the AIMS charity to help raise awareness about the transplant because they believe AHSCT should be offered sooner rather than later.
Your next read
square INCOME TAX ExplainedHow much your take-home pay would be reduced by if Reeves cuts tax thresholds
square HOUSINGSeven things that are causing damp in your house – and how to fix them
square PROPERTY AND MORTGAGESOur household income is £80k and we’ve a £20k deposit – but still can’t buy a home
square FOOD AND DRINKI tried 12 supermarket mince pies with a twist – two were delicious
“In my case, it stopped the disease from progressing at the point of the treatment which meant I wasn’t living in fear of another relapse,” James says.
Becky says always waiting and expecting a relapse is exhausting.
“Life is a delicate balance, but I have a wonderful family who support me and make life more manageable. Having a chronic illness also makes me want to live it as fully as I possibly can.”
Hence then, the article about i ve had ms for 14 years a new transplant let me dance with my daughters again was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( I’ve had MS for 14 years – a new transplant let me dance with my daughters again )
Also on site :