StemCell Therapy

Mike Whaley mwhaley@fosters.com @mwhaley25

Greg Friel can deal with the pain, as bad as it can be. Its the uncertainty about his future well-being that makes life difficult.

A former basketball star at Oyster River High School and Dartmouth College, Greg, 38, was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in 2010.

This unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system has weakened his body, particularly his legs below the knees, to the point where he often has to get around with a cane, and sometimes a walker.

Im in constant pain, he said. Its terrible. But Ive got a beautiful wife. Ive got a business where Im my own boss. Its a challenge. If you know the Friels, were up for a challenge. But its scary.

Fortunately, for Greg, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Next month, he will fly to Russia with his Uncle Bob for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). After being on the waiting list for three-plus years, Greg was recently granted admission to the treatment program.

The catch is that the cost for travel and treatment will be around $100,000. The treatment is not covered by insurance, so Gregs wife, Anastagia, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to pay for the trip and treatment (https://www.gofundme.com/gregfrielhsct). As of Saturday morning, nearly $53,000 has been raised in three weeks.

Greg flies to Moscow on Sept. 24 for the month-long treatment, which begins on Sept. 26 at Piragov Hospital.

MS is so unpredictable, Anastagia said. Its hard to see my husband, a pillar of strength in the family, going through a weak time.

Hes such a positive person, she added. Hes charismatic. Theres such a light around him. Its hard to deny his charisma, and hes charming.

The treatment includes chemotherapy, where Greg said they shock your system down to zero. Good stem cells are injected, so basically its a stem cell rebirth.

It wasnt easy for Greg to reach out for help. An independent financial advisor in Boston, he was used to being the one helping out. It was in his nature to give.

My wife, my mom and my siblings told me I needed to open myself up, said Greg, who stands 6-foot-5. It was difficult. But if you get it early, you get proactive and you get things done, you can be in fine shape.

Thats the high-road approach Greg is taking.

Thats the athletic mentality, he said. Youre competitive because you care.

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Greg comes from primo competitive stock. His dad, the late Gerry Friel, was the head mens basketball coach at the University of New Hampshire for 20 seasons (1969-89).

Greg is the middle child of five siblings. All of them played basketball at Oyster River and all five scored over 1,000 career points (Keith tallied over 2,000 points). They also all played Division I college basketball: Jennifer (UNH), Keith (Notre Dame, Virginia), Greg (Dartmouth), Jeremy (UNH) and Jilliane (UNH).

Greg and Keith starred at Oyster River in the mid-1990s, leading the Bobcats to back-to-back Class I championships in 1995 and 96.

Keith speaks fondly of those years playing with his brother. Greg was always two steps ahead and always competing. He did the little things, all the extra stuff that others didnt want to do. He loved to win, even if that meant diving for a ball or taking charges.

Greg was Wojo before Wojo, Keith said, referencing the feisty former Duke University guard of the late 1990s, Steve Wojciechowski. He was always firing up the other team, getting in their heads.

Plus he had that deadly 3-point stroke.

Greg graduated in 1997, attended New Hampton School for a post-graduate year where he counted future NBA star Darius Songaila (whos still a close friend) and Pistol Pete Maravichs son, Jason, among his teammates. Greg started for New Hampton and led them to the New England Class A prep championship game where they lost to Maine Central Institute.

Originally committed to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Greg decided to accept an offer from Dartmouth, coached by Somersworth native Dave Faucher, a former assistant at UNH under Gregs dad.

Two of Fauchers sons played at Lebanon High School, whom Oyster River beat in the 1995 Class I championship, 55-52. Greg set a tournament championship record with five 3-pointers in that game, a record he still shares 22 years later with two other players.

UNC-Wilmington would not let him out of his commitment, so he had to sit out a year before joining the Dartmouth team in the fall of 1999.

Greg played four years for the Big Green, serving as a captain as a senior. He graduated with a degree in economics and a minor in sociology.

As a player he got the chance to compete against both his brothers, although Jeremy laughs, I was on the bench while he was playing. I didnt get in.

Greg has been a financial advisor for 14 years, the last nine as his own man, running his own business.

He met his future wife while judging a beauty pageant in Las Vegas in 2009. A successful model, Anastagia has been Miss Teen Florida USA, Miss Florida USA and Miss Bahama Universe. She has also appeared in Sports Illustrateds swimsuit issue.

She actually didnt want to be at that particular pageant in 2009, but went at her moms behest and finished second.

They communicated on Facebook and it blossomed from there. Greg and Anastagia were married in May of 2014.

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In 2010, when Greg was diagnosed with MS, it started with headaches.

I was feeling weak, he said. I was working 80-90 hours a week, so I was thinking it could have been that. I just kept getting weaker and weaker, my legs mostly. I was feeling lethargic. I didnt have any energy.

His legs hurt. He described it as a charley horse: You cant move, he said. Youre stuck in mud. It felt like youre cutting (to the basket) and someone knees your leg muscle. Thats what it felt like all the time.

At its worse, Greg said he couldnt move, couldnt walk, couldnt get out of bed.

Greg took a very aggressive drug called Tysabri for 4 years that cost $22,000 a month for an infusion and was partially covered by insurance. But it wasnt a cure and he didnt know the long-term effects. That was a concern since he and Anastagia want to have children.

Now theres hope with the Russian treatment.

Gregs cousin, Brendan Friel, who suffered from the same MS, went to Russia for treatment and is back in good health.

He just had his three-year stem cell anniversary, Greg said. And now hes working full-time.

Anastagia said they did their research. (The treatment) is invasive, but its got a good track record, she said.

What Greg finds irritating is that the procedure is covered by insurance for cancer, ALS and rheumatoid arthritis, but not MS.

Its crazy, he said.

As expected, its been difficult for his family.

Its heart-wrenching, said Joan, his mom. Its been more debilitating in the past year than ever. Hes going downhill since Thanksgiving of last year. Its one little setback after another this time. He has to do something; otherwise it will get so much worse.

Joan said shes there as a mom. Thats my job and I embrace it for all my children. Im a sounding board.

She added, I dont need to be intrusive. Im there if they need me and want me and, sometimes, if they dont.

Greg maintains an upbeat attitude.

Im good, he said. I try to stay positive. Ive always been a pretty positive person mentally.

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The Friels have been touched by the outpouring of donations in such a short time, some from old adversaries or teammates Greg hasnt seen in 20 years.

Its not like one person wrote a check for $20,000, Greg said. Over 300 people have donated. Its very humbling. Its nice to see the support.

Later this month there will be a fundraiser at The Warehouse Bar & Grille, 40 Broad Street, in Boston to raise funds for Gregs treatment. It is being put together by a couple of old basketball opponents, Cliff Dever (Timberlane) and Marshall Chrane (Bishop Brady).

Chrane was on the Brady team that Gregs OR team beat in the 1996 Class I final, 58-49. Chrane returned the favor in 1997, hitting two foul shots with no time on the clock to beat Oyster River by a point in the tournament quarterfinals, Gregs last high school game.

The fundraiser will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Aug. 27.

There will be raffles, which include, among others, items donated by former pro and college football coach, Chip Kelly; UNH hockey coach Dick Umile and UMass-Amherst athletic director Ryan Bamford, Gregs old AAU teammate.

The journey to get Greg his treatment is certainly gaining momentum.

Were determined to get this right, he said.

Anastagia agrees.

I dont want anyone to be fighting alone, she said. Were committed to fighting this thing together.

Which is what good teammates do.

More:
Former basketball star Greg Friel in fight of his life - Sports - fosters ... - Foster's Daily Democrat

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