While he is only aged 39, Matthew Taylor of Bemboka said he can feel his mind and body failing him.
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In December he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), which has led him to seek treatment for the disease in Russia and he has begun to fundraise to help pay for the $72,000 procedure he needs.
"It's hard to ask for help," he said.
"When you're sick it can be something you keep to yourself, but when it's your life you need to ask for help.
"It can be an effort to go to town.
"You try to put on a brave face for everybody and be positive, but sometimes you get pretty emotional because it's pretty serious."
The first time he thought there may be a problem was when he noticed tingling in his fingertips.
"Then four or five days later I woke up on the lounge and my vision was double," he said.
"It was quite terrifying."
Mr Taylor said hearing his diagnosis of MS was like being "punched in the stomach".
"It's very confronting knowing here [in Australia] we have the medications to slow it down, but it's not necessarily going to stop the effects," he said.
His normal vision returned after two-and-a-half months following a heavy dose of steroids and he is now booked in for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) with Dr Denis Fedorenko in Russia in June.
READ MORE: HSCT funds raised for Irene Trezise
There have been other Bega Valley residents who sought seek overseas treatment for MS.
Several years ago Irene Trezise was treated for it in Russia.
The two attended primary school in Bemboka together and Mr Taylor said he probably would not have found out about AHSCT if Ms Trezise had not told him about it.
"As soon as I mentioned I had MS she said 'you've just got to go to Russia'," he said.
"Knowing that Irene has been there to this doctor, knowing the treatment has worked very well for her and many other people... it gives you more than hope.
"It gives you the hope of having a future with quality of life."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise funds for Mr Taylor's treatment, click here to donate.
His Commonwealth bank account details are: Matthew Shane Taylor, BSB 062 505 and account 1031 8846.
He is planning fundraisers, including a band night as well as a golf day auction.
You can follow his Facebook page "Matt to Moscow to Stop MS".