My name is Vicki and I’m from East Anglia in England. Like many other’s
stories begin, I first noticed white spots with a red outer tinge
appearing
on my left thigh when I was about 12. At first I thought it was nettle
rash
or maybe I had been in the sun too long (I was a bit of a tomboy!) so
thought nothing further, but when they weren’t disappearing my mum took me
to our local doctor. He had no idea as to what it might be and referred us
to our local hospital. One Doctor there thought that it might be a form of
Morphea, and so referred us to the prestigious Great Ormand Street
Hospital
for children in London.
I was only young and found it all quite exciting at first. The Staff at
Great Ormand Street were amazing; they do a fantastic job. My consultant
Prof. Woo diagnosed me with Linear Morphea.
I was first prescribed steroid creams but the Morphea spread down my leg
and
now almost covers my left foot, I also have a small patch on my tummy. The
specialists decided to put me on steroids, which scared me a lot. I was
12/13 years old, about 5ft and weighed about 6 stone. I was tiny, and so
was
frightened when they mentioned that I might gain a lot of weight. The
steroids were a short-term answer while I was also prescribed methotrexate
(?) which took longer to get into my system. These stunted my growth in a
big way and while all the other girls my age were developing a figure, I
was
just getting rounder and not growing up at all. It sounds silly but it
really hurt me because I was always such a skinny little kid. But when I
used to visit Great Ormand Street I used to see all the really sick kids,
the ones who'd had chemotherapy and the ones in wheelchairs. It made me
realise how lucky I was and how superficial I was being, while all these
poor children were dying.
I was on methotrexate from the age of 13 to the age of 16/17. I missed so
much school because the tablets I was on weakened my immune system; I
missed
a third of my year 10, before my exams and almost continuously had a cold
or
chest infection. I had a blood test every week at one point because
doctors
were so worried about my white cell count. After loads of thermograph
exams
the specialists told me it would be safe to come off the tablets slowly!
Almost as soon as I did I began to shoot up in height! In 4 years I’ve
grown
8+ inches upwards!
I visited Middlesex hospital (I was a bit old for Great Ormand Street) for
check-ups, and they discharged me late last year! I just have to keep an
eye
out for any new patches, none yet (touch wood)!
I'm now nearly 20 years old; I'm studying for my degree, BA (Hons)
Broadcasting @ Falmouth College of Arts, which is in Cornwall. Cornwall is
amazing and such a beautiful part of the country. All this has been made
so
much easier to cope with thanks to my amazing and brilliant family (Mum,
Dad
and Richard) who I love so much!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I’m glad that there are
others out there that went through something alike to me, I don’t feel so
alone now. Thanks to all those that have posted your stories for me to
read.
Contact me if you'd like on
victoriamead82@hotmail.com
Vicki
xxx
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