A Wolfson Children’s Hospital nurse battling an aggressive disease that affects a million families nationwide got a stem cell treatment live on Facebook.
PHOTOS: Jacksonville nurse gets experimental stem cell treatment live on Facebook
Gra Doherty celebrated her birthday in a Chicago hospital, where she’s being treated for multiple sclerosis.
“Thank you so much for your prayers, and your love, and your support. It’s actually happening! My stem cells are right over there,” Doherty said in the video.
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Before she left, her fellow nurses at Wolfson gave her a special gift: A custom wig made from her co-worker Alison Pike's hair.
The Daily Nurse named Pike "nurse of the week" after seeing Action News Jax's story.
Doherty is now getting hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or HSCT.
A trial published in January showed improvements for relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.
The procedure temporarily shuts down patients’ self-destructive immune systems and then reboots them using stem cells.
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Doherty was referred to the clinical trial in Chicago by Dr. Thomas Snyder, of Baptist Neurology.
Doherty said her insurance covers the treatment, but that’s not the case for everybody.
“I hope to raise money for people who their insurance does not cover the $125,000 fee for the HSCT, I hope to take some of that burden off of them. I want people to have the chance that I’ve been given,” said Doherty.
If you'd like to contribute to Doherty's treatment expenses and her Kiss MS Goodbye Foundation for MS patients in need, you can learn more here.