Funding for life changing treatment
My name is Rachael Alexander, and I am fundraising for a treatment that will change my life...
I have just turned 20 but I haven’t lived the life of a normal teenager. I live in Swansea, South Wales and I am seeking treatment in London.
I suffer from a Rare Gentetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. My EDS has caused me so many issues in my life from daily dislocations to chronic migraines, but this is not the most troubling of symptoms.
I have a condition that has caused my entire digestive tract (from my mouth to my bum) to be dysfunctional. My oesophagus, colon, and intestines are effected but my stomach is severely paralysed.
This means that just one sip of water (not even a mouthful) can cause 4 hours of CONSTANT vomiting.
Food doesn’t often reach my stomach because of my oesophageal issues, but when it does, the food rots and decomposes as my stomach is unable to empty itself.
I am fundraising for a treatment that will reverse these issues with my body, it involves one or both of these treatments:
Treatment 1) The muscle (situated inside my stomach) at the bottom will be ripped open and prevented from healing, this will allow gravity to drain the food from my stomach
Treatment 2) A gastric pace-maker (Similar to a heart pacemaker) will be inserted into my stomach to force contractions to take place, this will help the food to be moved through my stomach and toward the muscle mentioned above
Unfortunately due to the complexity and rarity of my conditions this treatment is not being offered to me on the NHS, so I am being forced to go privately.
The money donated will be going towards paying for:
-Transport to and from my home in South Wales to London
-Consultations with my team
-Pre-Surgical Testing & Procedures
-Recovery
Thank you very much for taking the time to read about me and my story, and I honestly can not thank you enough if you have decided to donate. It means the world to me!
I will keep you all updated on my progress