'I lost control my legs on walk home and can't do as much with my daughter now'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A dad-of-two with multiple sclerosis needs thousands of pounds for treatment in Mexico, after defeat at a sports day parents’ race set alarm bells ringing.

James Coull who is based on the Isle of Skye first realised “something was not right” when he lost control of his legs while walking home in March 2023.He then came last in a sports day race for parents at his nine-year-old daughter’s school, despite being a keen runner, so decided to see his doctor.

After several “horrible” months the 44-year-old was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) – an incurable chronic disease of the central nervous system that can cause muscle weakness, vision issues, numbness and memory problems.James has had to come to terms with quitting his job as a marine technician in the oil and gas industry, and not being able to financially provide for his wife, 41, son, 20, and daughter, nine, who have been adjusting to the diagnosis.Now he is aiming to raise 57,500 US dollars (£45,500) to cover the costs of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), an intense chemotherapy treatment that aims to “reset” the immune system by wiping it out and regrowing it using stem cells.According to the MS Society, the treatment comes with a high risk of side effects, and since 2005 one in about every 330 people who have had HSCT have died because of it. “Blown away” by people’s generosity, James’ online fundraiser has already received more than £30,000, almost enough for him to make the journey to Mexico in May.“I’m nervous but I really want it to happen,” James told PA Real Life. “It’s a little bit frightening because if something goes wrong, you’re not in your own country, you’ve not got the NHS to help you out.“There’s no