Race against time to raise £15,000 to get Stratford dad life-changing treatment

A STRATFORD dad is in a race against time to raise money for his brother’s treatment.

Jaime Bennett needs £15,000 to pay for what could be life-changing stem-cell therapy for older sibling Jason.

Personal trainer Jason was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in March last year.

The 33-year-old, who runs the Health Kick Academy in Stratford, realised something was wrong after waking to total numbness down one side of his body and double vision.

An MRI scan and other hospital tests revealed inflammation on his brain.

After the diagnosis, Jason seemed fine for almost a year, but took a turn for the worse two months ago.

Jaime, who runs an online coaching consultancy, recalled: “Jason called me one night saying: ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t walk’, so I rushed over to pick him up and took him straight to hospital.”

Jaime launched a Go Fund Me appeal a week ago to raise £30,000 to pay for the stem cell treatment, which isn’t available on the NHS as well as help with living costs, as Jason hasn’t been able to work for two months and is in hospital at the moment.

Jaime, 29, explained: “When he has a flare up, it’s a yo-yo effect in that he’ll be OK one day but then really bad the next.

“He has circulation problems, where his fingers go white and times when it feels like his breathing is stopping.

“He gets intense pain which comes and goes in waves and leaves him struggling to stand, walk or talk – it’s very unpredictable.”

He added: “This has put a pause on everything – all our lives – but we are all staying positive and looking at this as a temporary chaotic period.

“We’re doing everything within our power to make sure he gets the treatment he needs.”

Jason, who has two daughters Harleigh, 10 and Summer, 9, founded Health Kick Academy in 2017.

He’s worked as a personal training for 10 years and offers one-to-one fitness coaching, yoga and mindfulness sessions at his studio in Drayton Manor Drive.

Back in 2016 he woke to find the left side of his torso and hand completely numb and this spread to his legs and feet and lasted almost a week.

Scans and tests at the time didn’t find anything wrong but he now thinks it may have been the early signs of MS, which affects the nervous system.

Jaime, who became a dad in December after fiancée Jessie gave birth to their four-month-old son Lennie, has been caring for his brother for two months as well as trying to keep both Jason’s fitness studio and his own business going.

After researching MS therapies and talking to patients, Jaime has booked Jason onto an eight-day course of stem-cell treatment at a clinic in Serbia which starts next week, on 3rd May.

The Go Fund Me appeal has raised £1,200 within three days of being launched.

Jaime told the Herald: “We’re short on time as we’ve got to raise £15,000 for the treatment before it starts next week, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

“We’re getting so much support from family and friends – everyone’s doing what they can.

“And any time a problem comes up, we’re like: ‘Right, Plan B’.”

To donate to the appeal, go to www.gofundme.com and search for ‘Invest in Jason’s health’.