LISTEN: Gran's Charity Skydive For MS Opp

A grandmother of 70 years is to skydive from 10,000 feet to help pay for life-saving medical treatment for her daughter.

Pensioner Margaret Clarke of Rosehall in Sutherland will be overcoming a life-long fear of heights when she takes the plunge so that her daughter can receive cutting-edge treatment in Moscow to stop the progression of the debilitating disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Daughter, Lucy, 38, married with a beautiful 4 year-old son, has trouble walking and finds it increasingly difficult to do even routine tasks before she becomes exhausted. If the disease isn’t treated Lucy could be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

With support from family and friends Margaret and Lucy are now trying to raise £40,000 to pay for a stem cell transplant which can stop the MS from getting worse, and can even reverse damage already done.

Unfortunately, the treatment - Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation - it is not widely available in the UK on the NHS or privately – clinical trials are underway. Lucy will be the first Scot to fly to Moscow to receive the treatment. Speaking ahead of the skydive on 29th March in St Andrews, Margaret denied she was a ‘Supergran’ and explained why she was confronting her worst fear to help her daughter:

“Which mother wouldn’t jump out of a plane at 10,000 feet if they thought it would save their daughter. I don’t think I’m any different from any other caring mother.

“Lucy has suffered terribly with her illness. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that gets progressively worse over time.

"If we don’t act now, I don’t want to think about where we will be in a few years time.

“Hopefully when people hear I’m a 70 year-old granny doing a skydive, and that I’m scared of heights, they’ll sponsor me twice as much. Some people have laughed at me, but more have offered to help.

"Hopefully we can raise all the money we need.”

Their family has launched a website – www.LucysLight.uk: “A life without MS” – to raise awareness of her campaign and to enable the public to contribute to her cause.

Other friends and family members are also helping to raise money. Lucy’s nephew, Jamie Clarke, 10, has committed to swimming a mile to raise money to help his auntie.

“I’m really touched, and impressed, by my mum’s bravery,” said Lucy, “So many people are being really supportive.” Lucy was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2005 at the age of 29, but her symptoms began when she was only 15.

She desperately hopes that the treatment can help her have a normal life again with her son and husband, Dan.

“I was always a very active and productive person. Now, my MS makes it difficult for me to keep up with my son, and even do the most basic household tasks.”

“Other people who have had the treatment have told me that it’s transformed their lives. I really hope I will be that fortunate.

"It would be wonderful to be able to play with my son while he is still young, and be like the other mums and walk him to school and go to the park: things that other families take for granted.”

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that causes a person’s autoimmune system – which usually keeps them healthy – to start attacking cells in their own brain and spinal column.

The treatment Lucy hopes to undergo in Moscow will involve taking healthy stem cells from her own bone marrow, wiping out her diseased immune system with intensive chemotherapy, and then rebuilding an undamaged immune system from the healthy stem cells.

There are risks with the treatment but many cases, including two people from England, have shown positive results.

Doctors have advised it may take up to two years for Lucy to fully recover from the stem-cell transplant, and that her immune system will be severely compromised for several months.

As part of her month long stay in Moscow, she will spend 7 to 14 days in isolation.

Only when her ‘new’ immune system is strong enough will she be discharged from hospital. Still at risk of infection, she will have to wear a face mask to protect herself during her return trip to Scotland.

Loving mother and gran Margaret believes her daughter is incredibly brave and prays every day that the treatment will work.

“Lucy is a wonderful daughter, mother and wife. She deserves a second chance. Hopefully we can raise the money we need and this treatment can cure her.

You can support Lucy's campaign here:

MFR Reporter Derek Ferguson speaks with Lucy Clarke about her condition and the charity campaign...