Triple father from the Uckermark fights for life: a fundraiser is running!

Triple father from the Uckermark fights for life: a fundraiser is running!

In the Uckermark, a tragic story has developed that affects the fate of a triple father and committed farmer. Carsten Ertel, who runs the organic farm "Liese and Daughters" with his family, is fighting an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS), the course of which has deteriorated dramatically in the past two years. Despite intensive drug treatment that the symptoms cannot stop, Carsten is increasingly facing reality that he will soon be dependent on a wheelchair. All the more important is the recently launched fundraising campaign on Gofundme, which is intended to help him and his family finance the necessary treatments. So far, over 62,000 euros have already been collected, which has been significantly exceeded by the original goal of 50,000 euros, as [nordkurier.de] (https://www.nordkurier.de/regional/uckermark/er-t-dreischer-vater-grawirt- and-schwer-schwer-schon-ueber-62- 000-Amt-3752345).

What does the future look like for Carsten and his family? Carsten's health of Carsten has not only heavily burdened him, but also his wife Nora and the three children, including a child with Down syndrome. The family has given great hopes in a possible stem cell therapy, which in this case is an autologous hematopoetic stem cell transplantation. This treatment could stop the progression of the MS, but it is only approved in Germany in exceptional cases, and the health insurance companies often do not cover any costs.

The challenge of financing

The treatment costs in a specialized clinic in Mexico amount to over 50,550 euros. If you also take into account the travel expenses and the required support for the family, total costs of up to 100,000 euros are to be expected. The initiator of the fundraising campaign, Johanna Lachwitz, expresses her gratitude for the support already received and keeps the campaign open for further financing.

in a similar location is Karina Resch from Ettendorf. It is also affected by a severe form of MS and has chosen stem cell therapy in Mexico, since the healing methods in Austria and Germany have not yet been mature. She documents her struggle in an urgent way and has set up a donation account to finance the therapy, which should cost around 60,000 euros. Karina's symptoms first performed during a 10-kilometer run and led through detours to the diagnosis of primary progressive multiple sclerosis and transverse myelitis. It also feels supported by the general public, as [meinzirk.at] (https://www.meinbezirk.at/deutschlandsberg/c-lokales/stammzellentransplantation-als- fuer-ettendorferin_a7353986) reports.

A look at the stem cell therapy

Stem cell therapy is repeatedly addressed as hope for MS patients. It is believed that it can slow down the progression of the disease. However, this therapy is not without risks and can rarely be taken over by health insurance companies, which forces many patients to pay out of their own pocket. In Germany, the therapy is only available in a few places, and large-scale studies are still pending, such as [amsel.de] (https://www.amsel.de/multiple-sklerose-news/medizin/stammzell therapy-be-ms-imen-thema/).

A lot is at stake for Carsten and Karina. Both are desperately looking for a chance to regain their lives and oppose the disease. Their fates illustrate the enormous financial and emotional burden, which is associated with the search for healing while they also need the support of their community. The hope for improvement remains while the families continue their journey into the future.