Some people will travel to the ends of the earth in search for a better life.
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This was the case for Bemboka's Matthew Taylor, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) last year.
Instead of settling with taking the prescribed medication that slows down the symptoms of this degenerative disease which most likely would have seen him blind and wheelchair-bound in the foreseeable future, he traveled to Russia in search of a cure unavailable in Australia.
It was there he received autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) surgery at the AA Maximov Hospital in Moscow from Dr Denis Fedorenko, just after his 40th birthday.
Like Bega Valley locals Irene Tresize and Beth Burke who have undergone the same surgery in Moscow before him, Mr Taylor said the surgery had been a success and looked forward to a life free of the disease.
"Now it's just a matter of living life and enjoying it, after the recovery," he said.
"It's an amazing feeling, an incredible feeling just to even think about the process of what they've just done.
"The doctor - I can't even think of the words to praise him highly enough."
Speaking on Wednesday, he said he had only returned from Russia six days earlier and was at home recovering and rebuilding his immune system.
"Today was a tough day to be honest," he said.
"But there's going to be good days and bad days. Now its just a matter of recovery, a three-month recovery.
"I've got a brand-new immune system so have to be around as few people as possible. I can't wait to get out and about again."
During this recovery time, he plans to campaign with other stem cell surgery recipients to relevant government and medical authorities to try and make AHSCT available in Australia.
"If no-one does it, nothing will change," he said.
"If we can make changes in some way, it's all been worth it."
Mr Taylor wanted to thank the local people and businesses who donated their services and time to assisting him with the costs involved with his surgery.
One of those people was AutoPro Bega's Steve Parker, who gave Mr Taylor a cheque for $2300 from in-store fundraising efforts when he visited the hospital in Moscow then helped Mr Taylor travel home to Australia.
