My five-year dispute with my insurance company—the one where they refused to cover a life-saving stem cell transplant for my aggressive multiple sclerosis after all other treatments had failed—is finally resolved, and in dramatic fashion: a story in The New York Times.

Shift.MS interviewed me about my stem cell transplant experience from 2010. I tried to be honest, and maybe I was a bit too honest. The interview was broken into 7 segments and will be posted over time (about 20 minutes total).

In these powerful and often hilarious five videos, I document my treatment, recovery, and epic insurance fight after my dramatic experience in HALT-MS—a clinical trial testing haemopoietic stem cell transplantation in aggressive MS.

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"The Active MS Dude" is featured in a new podcast as fellow MSer Marie Heron interviews me for Truth Be Told MS. I put it all out there, perhaps a bit too much out there, urg. I sure hope I didn't say anything
too crass. (But I probably did.)

Here are just a few lessons learned, and some personal confessions, after going through a stem cell transplant—complete with high-dose chemotherapy and a lengthy hospital stay—for my ornery MS. These are the first steps to consider before undergoing HSCT.

Anyone curious about HSCT should start (and finish) here. Every research study on stem cell transplantation for multiple sclerosis is posted in this area of the forum. You’ll also find detailed experiences, essential advice, debate on the best candidates and more.