Greytown service clubs are pitching in to help a woman battle a crippling disease.
The Greytown Lions and Lioness clubs are using their annual quiz night to help raise money for Greytown mum Nikki Regnault's fight against multiple sclerosis.
The quiz night will be held on May 15 at the South Wairarapa Workingmen's Club, and will also include an auction of goods donated by the community, such as holiday accommodation and art work.
Mrs Regnault, the mother of three young children, has been battling the degenerative disease, which causes chronic fatigue and periodic attacks affecting her balance, sight and thought processes, for 19 years.
She and her husband, Wayne, believe stem cell treatment will halt the progress of the disease, and began fundraising for the overseas treatment last year.
President of the Greytown Lions Club Linda Kirkland said Mrs Regnault was a young, local mother who deserved the support of the community.
She strongly identified with the struggle against the disease, she said.
"My sister has MS and I've watched her decline over the years to the point now where she is completely incapacitated - it's such a incredibly cruel disease."
There would be a maximum of 40 teams of four accepted into the quiz, with tickets expected to sell out in advance.
The Regnault's have just returned from a trip to the Singapore General Hospital, where Mrs Regnault has made a booking to have stem cell treatment next February.
Mr Regnault said they had considered Russia but a long waiting list would have delayed the treatment by at least a year.
The cost of treatment in Singapore would be about $200,000, rather than the $150,000 the family had planned on.
The family was excited, but nervous about the challenge the three-month treatment presented, Mr Regnault said.
"We are scared and excited but positive. The more we hear about the people who are in it [the treatment] and just focus on what the benefits are, then the more excited the whole family are."
While in Singapore they met up with a Nelson woman who had started undergoing the treatment. The treatment was becoming increasingly popular, Mr Regnault said.
"They are not just stopping the disease in some cases, but in some cases there is some betterment. It's not just stopping the progress. Those sorts of add-ons are really encouraging."
Stem cell treatment works by removing fresh stem cells from the patient's bone marrow and then destroying the malignant cells with chemotherapy.
The removed stem cells are then transplanted back into the patient.
Quiz entry forms can be collected from the Greytown Primary School library or South Wairarapa Computers on Hastwell St as well as at http://www.lionsclubs.org.nz/Clubs/202M/Zone-4/Greytown