A Neyland man with multiple sclerosis is raising money to travel to Mexico and receive life-changing treatment.

Paul Wheeler, 45, has set a target of £45,000 to have a hematopoietic stem cell transplant that he hopes will stop the disease from worsening.

In August 2012, Paul was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS and seven months later it worsened to secondary progressive MS. There are currently no drugs to slow the progression rate and only painkillers to help with the “agonising” pain.

The stem cell operation will give Paul a 64 per cent chance that the progression will be permanently stopped.

“I have times when my legs don’t work and I can’t get up. For the couple of hours it lasts I’m thinking, ‘Will I stay like this forever?’ At some point that’s going to happen and it terrifies me,” said Paul.

In 2015, Paul believed his luck had changed after a Panorama programme claimed there was a possible cure for MS on the horizon. However, the ground-breaking treatment was only available for relapsing remitting MS. “I was gutted,” he said.

Not wanting to give up hope, Paul investigated and discovered that his type of MS was being treated in a handful of countries. “In Moscow they have been doing it for 12 years, four years in Mexico and now the Philippines have started. They will treat primary or secondary progressives.

“There are 800 people that have been treated in the past 12 years and around 200 have been done in the last four years. Of those people, a high percentage have had their progression stopped, but it’s not guaranteed.”

Paul hopes to raise the money as soon as possible so he can get on the cancellation list with the specialist clinic in Mexico. In six months he will be placed on the waiting list.

To help raise awareness of his campaign, Paul set up a GoFundMe page April. “It was the hardest thing I have ever written,” he said. “To write something that explains how MS has affected me was extremely hard, it took me about four days.”

So far the page has raised £2,460 and Paul is amazed by the support people have shown. “It has floored me. It’s not just friends and family that have contributed, but also former work colleagues.”

Originally from London, Paul moved to Neyland 19 years ago and was an IT worker for Valero before becoming a scheduler at Murco.

Despite having days when he is bed-bound, Paul is trying a raise the money in a number of ways.

Two friends of Paul’s will be shaving off half their beards to support the fund. On June 1, Mervyn Jenkins will have one half of his beard cut off and keep it that way for half a year. “Every time people stop him in the street, he will have a form explaining what he is doing. I think it’s a fabulous idea. It bought tears to my eyes,” said Paul.

Despite days with immense pain, Paul tries to remain upbeat. “Humour conquers a lot of things.” When the pain isn’t too much, he volunteers two days a week at the Red Cross in Haverfordwest. “I really enjoy it. It gives me a chance to get out and about and meet people.”

While admitting that treatment is a lot of money and it may not be successful, Paul believes it is worth taking the risk. “I have two teenage boys and I don’t want them looking after me.”

Paul is supported by his partner Tina who will travel with him for part of the month that he will spend in Mexico.

“If I feel rubbish for a year after the operation, it is only a year. I’ve then got 20, 30, 40 years where I won’t be getting worse.

“When I come back to the UK I’ll need to have further treatment in Manchester or London once a month for five months. I have included the price of that privately. I don’t want to be a burden on the NHS.

“Sometimes I’m in screaming agony on the floor and I can’t do anything about it. Being in that much pain and scared that it’s not going to stop is the worst thing I can imagine. Risking the treatment is a no-brainer.”

To find out more about the campaign or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/hsctforpaul