“At the moment, I can only eat about 25 food products without risking my life. And my body reacts not only to food – it even reacts to my own hormones, body processes, smells, and temperature changes,” shares Kate, a pedagogy student from Somerset, Great Britain. “Now – even to our sofa. It’s terribly scary because when anaphylaxis starts, I have only a few minutes and I could die. I try to live as normal a life as possible, cautiously, but during every meal, whatever I do, I am very afraid.”
Read more White House: Donald Trump will appeal to the nation regarding «our election integrity»
The girl does not hide that she had to openly talk with her parents about death.
“Worrying every day that it could be my last day is no longer so strange,” she says.
Kate was diagnosed with an immune system disorder called mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) just before her 18th birthday in 2022. Warning signs of potentially life-threatening reactions include facial flushing, digestive disorders, extreme fatigue, loss of consciousness, rashes, painful skin, eye swelling, and wheezing.
Currently, she takes 15 medications daily to help reduce the severity of attacks and also pays £1,000 per month for antibody injections, as they are not covered by the state.
But her greatest support is a specially trained dog named Kenny. “He paces back and forth, does all the tricks he knows, and becomes very restless. Kenny seems to talk to me, and if he gets very worried, he barks,” the girl says.
“- When warning, he does not respond to touches, toys, treats, or anything else. He is very serious – especially when the reaction progresses to anaphylaxis – and warns me about 10 minutes in advance so I can prepare. Then I get a real Paddington-style look.”
The four-year-old black Labrador Kenny was given to sick Kate through the charity organization Medical Detection Dogs. Each dog in this organization is trained to become a certified alert dog for certain conditions and help avoid life-threatening situations, as in Kate’s case.
Initially, the dog was assigned to Kate because of another illness that has troubled her since adolescence. “Growing up, I had many problems. I had strabismus and only 50% hearing, which was later improved by surgery,” Kate confides. “Also, I had no bladder control at all and bruised very easily from head to toe. Then reflex seizures began. For up to two minutes, my heart would completely stop – once there were 24 such seizures in one day.”
Frequent fainting
Everything worsened when she was 13 and fainted at school during a physical education class. After visiting doctors, it was attributed to puberty. However, when she started fainting daily, and some cases ended up in the hospital, it was decided to look for the cause.
Read more The journey of Lithuania’s vice-champions, who suffered a painful defeat in Estonia, ended in Europe
She said: “No one could find the problem. My mother stayed awake for hours searching the internet for my symptoms until she started connecting the dots. After I fell down the stairs, suffered a concussion, and broke my wrist, it was only a matter of time before I accidentally killed myself. Once I fainted during a science class and hit my head on the desk behind me.”
Kate had to wear a protective headgear because she began suffering from memory problems, vision loss, and speech disorders. Then she was referred for a special test – the tilt table test, during which blood pressure and heart rate were monitored. The test is designed to determine the causes of unexplained fainting, frequent dizziness, or blood pressure drops. During the test, the patient lies on a special table that is gradually raised to a 60–80 degree angle while monitoring blood pressure and heart rate.
“As soon as the table tilted to a standing position, I immediately fainted,” she said.
Kate was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS). It causes frequent fainting episodes because the heart rate rises rapidly. At school, she was accompanied everywhere after being found in the bathroom.
Tired of never having her own space, Kate lost hope. She said: “All I wanted was five seconds of peace. It caused a lot of self-doubt; I often convinced myself that it was all in my head. Everything around me was falling apart because my dream of becoming a nurse disappeared.”
“My dream of working with children – disappeared. I didn’t think I could ever be alone again; I felt trapped in this endless cycle. I kept telling myself that everything would get better, but it only got worse. Until I found Medical Detection Dogs.”
When Kate is about to have a seizure, Kenny touches her with his paw and looks into her eyes. If he thinks Kate is not listening, he starts whining and chattering his teeth.
Thanks to Kenny, she was able to study at university and will soon graduate as a primary school teacher.
“If I could talk to him, I would want to make sure he knows how priceless he is. I have had reactions during which, if not for Kenny, I would have died. Before he came into my life, I saw no reason to live anymore. He showed me that there is a reason to live,” the girl shares.
