Family needs to raise 40k towards potentially life-changing treatment for mum with MS – Coventry Telegraph

A Coventry woman has set up a Go Fund Me page in the hope of raising money for treatment which has the potential to change her mother's quality of life.

Leyla Hassan and her family own a fish and chip shop in Tile Hill called the Station Plaice Fish Bar. They have owned the business for many years with her mum and dad running it on a daily basis.

However the Hassan family's lives got turned upside down when mother Dalga Hassan, 54, got diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS) three years ago.

Sadly since the diagnosis, Dalga's condition has deteriorated, to the point where she can no longer walk or be independent.

Daughter, Layla, 31, has had to move back into the family home to help offer support to her mother as she has suffered with the illness.

Layla said: "My mum and dad run Station Plaice Fish Bar in Tile Hill, but three years ago my mum was diagnosed with MS.

"Over the past six or seven months she could walk but now she can't at all, she can't do anything for herself.

"My mum can't even go to the toilet on her own and she is desperate to do something on her own."

Dalga is a mother to three children and used to work in the family shop alongside her husband six days a week serving customers.

Now she sits at the back of the shop in the day, chatting to customers.

Leyla, who works in sales for car manufacturer BMW, continued: "Before the MS she used to work in the fish shop six days a week. Now, she will go down in the morning using her chairlift and sit in a chair at the back of the shop.

"It's so hard seeing someone that used to move and work at 100 miles an hour be like this. She always used to be cooking and cleaning for us and doing all sorts of things.

"However, our customers in the shop ask for my mum all the time and will always go and talk to her."

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The family are beginning to struggle with Dalga's condition and have been looking for different treatment methods that may be able to help.

"We have been asking the doctors here in the UK if she could take part in any trials, anything that might make her condition better but we just keep getting told no," Leyla said.

"So I did some research into different treatments across the world and stumbled on stem cell therapy. A lot of people that have MS and have had the treatment find their mobility becomes better as a result."

The family are attempting to raise 40,000 to send Dalga to Turkey to receive potentially life-changing stem cell treatment, which may improve her quality of life.

Leyla added: "The treatment is similar to chemotherapy, in the sense that it wipes out your immune system. That means my mum may loose her hair.

"So, if we reach the 40k mark and she is able to go, I'm going to shave my head so she doesn't have to go through it alone."

Leyla explains the family have also been in contact with Coventry City Council about getting a wet room fitted in place of their shower.

She said: "Someone came round to look at the flat and said we needed a wet room. They said it would be a six month wait but we have waited much longer than that.

"We appreciate the coronavirus situation has slowed everything down, but the week after someone came round to assess our bathroom, my mum fell out of the shower and I had to call an ambulance.

"I couldn't lift her on her own as it is like lifting a dead weight. It was really scary."

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: There is high demand for disabled adaptations in Coventry and as a result there is a waiting list. With the social distancing measures introduced as a result of Covid-19 this has extended the period further.

"There is a priority system in place for those with high level of risk and as some contractors are now returning to work these cases will be progressed.

So far, the Hassan family have raised around 3,000 of their 40,000 target.

"I really wanted to run some fundraising events. But given the current circumstances that just can't happen", Leyla said.

The family are desperate to send their mother to Turkey for treatment and say they are grateful for any donation.

If you would like to donate online, you can do so here.

Equally, the family are more than happy to take donations and speak to people at their chip shop located on Station Avenue in Tile Hill.

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Family needs to raise 40k towards potentially life-changing treatment for mum with MS - Coventry Telegraph