Mastocytosis
A Rare Disease
by Pat Reece
I
have suffered from this disease we now know, since childhood. I always had
problems after food and as a teenager I often fell asleep after eating, just
where I was sitting. It still happens and food literally 'knocks me out'
sometimes. As a child, I often suffered from joint pains particularly in
my knees. I still do but over the years it has extended to my spine and
hips. I had skin problems too as a child, which have remained to this day
and have become worse along with the escalation of this disease.
Circumstances
throughout my life, which caused me ongoing stress plus emotional shocks over
the years, only served to escalate the disease, eventually to a life threatening
stage. Three years ago I almost lost my life.
Other
trigger factors are exertion and the shocks I have suffered from surgery many
times. Eventually, as it all worsened, I found that I had the ability to
'close down' some of my body's organs after any of the above factors and then
resume their function myself without medical aid and I have done this many, many
times. These organs are my digestive system, my kidneys and my colon.
However,
three years ago I 'gave up' and decided to allow my body to die. I had
been literally keeping it alive with the forty-four pills a day that I have to
take. At the time I was under severe emotional stress coupled with shock,
which brought out another shock that had been buried for twenty-two years and of
which I had never come to terms with. I was very ill and yes I almost died
but I decided that I didn't want to die yet and I literally 'brought myself
back'.
My
specialist of seventeen years asked me to write my story to maybe help other
people suffering some of the symptoms that I suffer because although my
condition is unusual, the symptoms are not and some or all are suffered by many
other people. These are:- Hiatus Hernia, Oesophagitis, Gastric
Stomach, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fluid Retention, Arthritis, Severe Headaches
and Migraines, Asthma, Eczema and Food Allergies, to name a few. They are
all there in my story!. I really do suffer them all but classed together
they come under the heading of Mastocytosis which is a disorder of the Mast
Cells.
Research
is going on in the States in an attempt to find a cure but to me they should
look first at the cause because the cure is within ourselves and the worst
culprit is stress. But also a trauma, maybe many years before, has been
found to be a trigger factor of this multiple symptom disease.
I
have recently been in the United States of America for almost three weeks and
attended a conference for a few days about the disease where I was able to
discuss it with doctors who were present. I also met other sufferers and
even though I would not wish this illness on anyone, it was nice to be able to
talk with people who were in the same position as myself.
My
story however is not a dismal one - far from it! I look at everything in a
humorous manner, yes even illness, and maybe this is what has kept me going for
so long. There is humour in my story as well as sadness and at times
despair, whilst I searched for answers to my condition. This is why I
decided to feature a roller-coaster on the front cover of my book. That's
what my life has been like, living on a roller-coaster both before and after my
illness kicked in.
Despite
often being unwell, I have enjoyed writing my story. Writing a book, be it
non-fictional or otherwise, is something that you have to be dedicated to....and
I was.
'Determined
to Survive' by Pat Reece is published by Pegasus/Vanguard and is available now
from all good bookstores including W. H. Smiths or it can be ordered online
through
http://www.amazon.co.uk
quoting its ISBN 1 843 860 26 0
number
A
limited number of copies from a United States of America book signing are
available direct from Pat or can be ordered from any bookshop by quoting the
title and its ISBN 1 843860 26 0 number.
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