Liz Simenik, an MS patient who four months ago wasn’t able to walk without a cane, is getting into shape for a 10 km run!

Four months ago she was constantly exahausted, was sleeping 12 to 14 hours day, and her quality of life was very low because of MS, but now, she is able to run again, is no longer exhausted and her quality of life improved greatly.

Placebo effect? Perhaps, but if this is the case, then it shows the power of the human mind over the body.

No matter the case, one thing is sure, she will run 10KM on august 28, just to prove a point!

"It changed my life about 180 degrees," said Simenik.

The newly found health is attributed to CCSVI, a very controversial vein-operation treatment that some say that just gives people with MS false hope.

CCSVI, or the Liberation Therapy, was introduced to the medical community in 2008 by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni, as a revolutionary process, and breakthrough in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

Instead of assuming that MS is a central nervous system disease, Zamboni theorized that MS is caused by a narrowing of veins, which results in a buildup of iron in the brain, which in turn explains many of the MS symptoms.

However, for the moment, the procedure is not yet available in Canada, because the Canadian healthcare system needs years of clinical trials before approving a new treatment – no matter the illness. This means that there are a lot of MS sufferers who could benefit from this treatment, but need to wait until it’s cleared in Canada.

However, there are some that don’t have the time and the patience to wait, so they get out of the country, pay thousands of dollars out of their own pockets, and get the surgery abroad – Germany, India, Poland, Bulgaria, Mexico are some of the countries where the liberation therapy has been approved.

Simenik paid $10,000 for the 15-minute surgery in Frankfurt Germany. As a result of the surgery, a bloodflow blockage near her jaw was cleared and she states that right after the surgery: "Two days later, my husband pointed out I was walking faster than him."

It’s needless to say, that this was a dramatic and rapid improvement for her, since it meant the lack of fatigue, and the lack of her cane. However, she added : "I still have MS, but my symptoms are not affecting me the way they were before -- I enjoy the day again."

So, if the treatment works, why the controversy around it? Because top Canadian doctors believe that this treatment causes a placebo effect, and with MS symptoms coming and going, the so called cure can be just good timing. The doctor’s belief is backed up by many reports of people who underwent liberation therapy, and said that the relief was only temporary or worse, that it hasn’t existed, and it was all money spent on nothing.

However, there are people like Liz Simenik, who can now run 10 km, and she’s going to run the 10 km to raise money for CCSVI Calgary, in an effort to hope others have the surgery too.

"I want to raise awareness about the procedure and how it improved my quality of life," she said.