Almost 5 years ago after a viral illness, my bladder decided to stop working. After multiple tests and hospital admissions, I was finally diagnosed with Fowler's syndrome a condition affecting only women for which there is no cure.
I was given a suprapubic urinary catheter and sent on my way. Last year I caught an infection whilst on holiday which has been a particularly hard to treat strain of Pseudomonas. Since then I have had 11 hospital admissions and have been pretty much bedbound in the hospital for the last 4 months.
My doctors have tried many different courses of treatment even a sacral nerve stimulation surgery last year, which turned out to be not effective for me. Since then, the doctors have decided I need to have a Mitrofanoff , which is a major surgery moving the appendix to create a continent stoma on the side of my abdomen to catheterize through, thus removing the infection and giving me a chance to get my life back. This major surgery is the only option that I now have.
On the NHS, the waiting time is over a year as conditions which are not cancerous are not being pushed forward due to funding and the current state of the NHS. If I pay for this privately it could be done and I could be on my way to recovery within the next couple of weeks. I'm a Children's nurse at King's College Hospital and I am desperate to get back to work and get back to my job as the patients mean the world to me.
I hate asking, but if there is anyone out there that is in a position to help, you would be changing my life!
(If this does not go ahead, any money raised will be given to charity researching Fowler's Syndrome).
I was given a suprapubic urinary catheter and sent on my way. Last year I caught an infection whilst on holiday which has been a particularly hard to treat strain of Pseudomonas. Since then I have had 11 hospital admissions and have been pretty much bedbound in the hospital for the last 4 months.
My doctors have tried many different courses of treatment even a sacral nerve stimulation surgery last year, which turned out to be not effective for me. Since then, the doctors have decided I need to have a Mitrofanoff , which is a major surgery moving the appendix to create a continent stoma on the side of my abdomen to catheterize through, thus removing the infection and giving me a chance to get my life back. This major surgery is the only option that I now have.
On the NHS, the waiting time is over a year as conditions which are not cancerous are not being pushed forward due to funding and the current state of the NHS. If I pay for this privately it could be done and I could be on my way to recovery within the next couple of weeks. I'm a Children's nurse at King's College Hospital and I am desperate to get back to work and get back to my job as the patients mean the world to me.
I hate asking, but if there is anyone out there that is in a position to help, you would be changing my life!
(If this does not go ahead, any money raised will be given to charity researching Fowler's Syndrome).
Organizer
Lucii Wilkes
Organizer