Welcome to HelpDave.com
Thanks for visiting! This web site remains on the web as a resource for people researching Multiple Sclerosis. Dave's family has long-since raised the money needed for his stem-cell transplant and Dave is happy to report that he no longer has to live in pain 24 hours a day. Dave is still undergoing physical therapy to regain movement in his legs but Dave and family are thrilled with his progress!

This site documents the experiences of one M.S. sufferer and his family as they strove to raise the money needed for a stem-cell transplant. It serves as a testament that it can be done! The site chronicles the various fundraising efforts, the coverage they got in the local newspapers, the operation itself, the patient's recovery and post-operation physical therapy. Hopefully, it will help answer questions you might have if you or a loved one are seeking treatment for Multiple Sclerosis and are considering having this procedure.

Feel free to ask Dave about his experiences. You can email him at horsefly31766@yahoo.com.

Dave's Story
Dave Hassenpflug, father of two boys, ages 7 and 10, was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1991 when Dave was just 25. Over the next 8 years the disease worsened and Dave slowly lost the use of his legs, relying first on a walker and later confined to a wheelchair. He starts out each day painfully waiting two hours for his legs to bend enough for him to go about his daily activities. A bone marrow transplant operation could change all that, but it costs $100,000.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease that affects the central nervous system. The disease has left Dave in constant pain, without the use of his legs and very limited use of his hands.

On an MS retreat in Malibu Beach, California, Dave met a young lady walking on the beach. She too had once been confined to a wheelchair because of MS. She underwent a bone marrow transplant operation which had successfully removed her diseased marrow, filtered the defective cells out and reintroduced the purified stem cells back into her system. It was then that Dave and his family began their quest to convince his doctors to try this operation on Dave.

There are certainly risks to this experimental procedure but to Dave, the risks are worth it if it means he can walk and teach his young sons how to play hockey, baseball and football; sports Dave excelled at as a youth.

Thanks to the persistence of Dave's family, he is now eligable for the operation. The remaining obstacle is raising the $100,000 price tag for the operation, which is not covered by insurance. With renewed hope, Dave and his family took on the monumental task of raising the needed funds with the help of the National Foundation for Transplants.

We often take for granted the precious gift of being able to walk. Now you can give that precious gift to Dave, his family and especially to his young sons, by making a tax-deductable online credit card donation today!

Thank You,
HelpDave.com