A Wiltshire woman has embarked on a fundraising campaign to secure life changing treatment for her multiple sclerosis in Mexico.

Maddy Boardman, a mother of three from Great Bedwyn near Marlborough, has lived with MS for 24 years after being diagnosed when she was 17.

Because she is currently in the secondary progressive stage of her illness, she is not eligible for treatment in the UK to stop the disease’s progression.

Her and her husband Phil, who she met at school, are desperately hoping to raise £50,000 by August, which would allow them to pay for stem cell treatment in Mexico.

The Clinical Ruiz facility is one of several around the world and Mrs Boardman believes it gives her the best chance of halting the disease.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Mrs Boardman and her husband Phil have three children and two dogs.Mrs Boardman and her husband Phil have three children and two dogs. (Image: Boardman Family)

She said: “We’re at the stage where we don’t really have an option but to try and do something that will hopefully make me better.

“They tell me that if I have the treatment I have a 75 percent chance of my MS not getting any worse. It won’t cure it, but it will stop it deteriorating whereas if I do nothing it is a medical certainty it will get worse.

“We’re trying to go down every avenue. I have a reservation for October and if we don’t make it by then we’ll delay it until we can.”

While Mrs Boardman has managed to live a largely normal life without medical intervention, her health is beginning to deteriorate.

She added: “Life is getting increasingly challenging now, I struggle to walk most days. It’s getting to the point where my legs will go and Phil will have to pick me up and carry me.

“The deterioration has sped up these last few years… MS can affect everything, and a wheelchair isn’t that far away. You know it’s going to get worse you just don’t know how quickly.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Mr Boardman is hoping to use his passion for running to raise money.Mr Boardman is hoping to use his passion for running to raise money. (Image: Boardman family)

The couple have set up a GoFundMe page and were “blown away” when it made almost £5,000 in its first week.

They are also planning several fundraisers, including a charity ball and auction, while Mr Boardman is planning to run ten marathons in different counties over ten days during May, starting in Cornwall and ending in Wiltshire.

He said: “I’ve done seven in seven before but if you’re trying to raise money you have to go bigger.

“People can join me by running, walking or biking for whatever distance they want to. We’re not stopping until we can get Maddy the treatment”.