Donna Romaniuk celebrates the "liberation" surgery she received in India for Multiple Sclerosis by beating her walker with her walking cane outside her Edmonton home, Wednesday, July 28, 2010. DOREEN THUNDER/QMI AGENCY

EDMONTON -- An Edmonton woman says she’s living proof that a controversial multiple sclerosis procedure works.

Donna Romaniuk said she hopes Alberta follows Saskatchewan’s lead and begins clinical trials, so others won’t have to spend thousands going overseas for treatment.

“I am living proof that it works, but this was just an experiment,” said Romaniuk, a 47-year-old MS sufferer who flew from Edmonton to India to get the treatment back in June.

“What Saskatchewan is doing is a brilliant idea and I hope other provinces jump on board, especially Alberta.”

Saskatchewan’s government this week announced plans to pay for clinical trials of the liberation treatment. But Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky said Alberta won’t do the same until there’s more evidence it works.

“This isn’t on the immediate horizon (for Alberta), but I am going to follow Saskatchewan’s experience with great interest,” said Zwozdesky.

“It looks like there is hope on the horizon, but that research has not yet concluded.”

Right now, MS patients in Canada must spend thousands of dollars on flights and medical costs to get the experimental procedure in another country.

Italian researcher Dr. Paolo Zamboni found a majority of his patients who suffer from MS have narrow veins. His procedure involves a balloon, which is blown up inside a blocked vein to improve blood-flow to the brain.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is expected to raise the matter next week at a meeting of premiers in Winnipeg.

Romaniuk said her mobility, including the ability to walk, has vastly improved since the treatment.

And the mother of three, who has been working out every day to get her strength back, says she started seeing results within an hour and a half after the procedure.

“The fog in my head has cleared, and every day I am seeing improvement,” said Romaniuk.

“I have feeling in my feet now, which is something I have never had for the last seven years.”

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada says it welcomes the idea of government-paid clinical trials, but more work still needs to be done in terms of research.

And since the procedure is so new, the society still needs to keep track of those patents who have received the treatment overseas, says president Neil Pierce.

“By tracking them, we need to know if there’s benefits to this treatment,” said Pierce.  “And if we can do a clinical trial in Canada, I think that will give them hope.”

Alberta and Saskatchewan both have the most MS cases in the country and the society is trying to find out the reason behind the trend, Pierce said.  

A spokesman for Premier Ed Stelmach said more scientific evidence is still required before the government follows Saskatchewan’s lead.

“We are making the right decisions for Alberta. Each jurisdiction does their own thing, but it’s based on their own research,” said Cam Hantiuk.

Zwozdesky said he plans to bring up the topic at a provincial and federal health ministers’ meeting in September.

MS can cause a loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis.

About 1,000 people are diagnosed with MS in Canada every year, according to figures from the society.