‘Earth angel’ buys Tamiflu for flu sufferer with MS

OTTAWA If not for the kindness of an anonymous benefactor, Lacey Levair fears she could be dead or dying by now. And though her story has a happy ending, it raises questions about the adequacy of Ontarios drug benefit program.

On Tuesday, the 29-year-old Stittsville resident was diagnosed with Type A influenza, the most virulent form of the disease. Though most people recover within 10 days or so, influenza and its complications kill between 2,000 and 8,000 Canadians each year.

Among the most vulnerable are people with compromised immune systems. And few Canadians have immune systems more compromised than Lacey Levairs.

Levair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007. She was soon unable to walk, confined to a wheelchair. But her fortunes took a turn for the better in 2010. Following a successful multi-year study of a new MS treatment involving stem cell transplants, Ottawa hematologist Dr. Harold Atkins chose Levair to be the first post-study recipient.

Atkins collected stem cells from Levairs bone marrow in July 2010 and, after theyd been purified, transplanted them back into her body in November of that year.

The results have been miraculous. While Levair technically still has MS, her symptoms have vanished. Im walking again, I can jump, Im not numb anywhere, she says.

But as part of the procedure, Levair had to undergo powerful chemotherapy treatments, more intense than those given even to advanced cancer patients. That left her with a severely impaired immune system.

So when Levair fell ill in early January, she quickly sought treatment. After antibiotics failed to clear up the problem, she was tested for influenza this past Monday. The next day, she learned the test had confirmed Type A influenza.

After the diagnosis, Atkins, now Levairs hematologist, phoned in a prescription for Tamiflu, an antiviral drugs that may slow the spread of the flu virus between cells in the body.

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‘Earth angel’ buys Tamiflu for flu sufferer with MS