ASEQ-EHAQ

Does Anyone Care
Renée Gabrych

Lack of accommodation for a disability
Ginger Major

I am tired of living in hell
Olly Gabrych

Housing Crisis for People with MCS
Line

The Stolen Life
S. Shepherd

Dead But Alive
What is sensitivity to chemical products (MCS)?
Sylvie Haché

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide
Muriel Létourneau

When Life Becomes a Nightmare
My story of living with multiple chemical sensitivities
Danielle Castonguay

I Suffer Too Much, I Can’t Keep Quiet Anymore!
I feel inspired by a mission
Line

When the “Invisible Illness” becomes Visible
Or – Monster Lady Comes for a Visit
Lisa Edelsward

The story of a teacher
Marlene

Living with the Feeling of Being on borrowed time
Isabelle Martineau

MCS: A Life-Altering Disability
Ruth Woitowitz

Existing (NOT “Living”) With Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Ruth Woitowitz

One of the Lucky ones!
Debra Aronson

My Illness Journey
Sophie M.

.

.

.

.

One of the Lucky ones!

Debra Aronson

When I was a little girl, I woke up in the morning feeling fine. I would get ready for school but started to feel sick when I went into the kitchen for breakfast. Every morning my mother gave me cream of wheat with white sugar and milk while she read the newspaper and sipped her coffee. After a few minutes I would feel nauseated and complained that I was too sick to go to school. The pediatrician diagnosed me with school phobia and referred me to a child psychiatrist. But I loved school and the talking doctor couldn’t help in the least!

As I got older, breakfast was on the go and my morning symptoms improved. I never really wanted to eat in the morning, and my mom probably waited until I was at school for her coffee and newspaper time. Eventually I figured out that certain smells could make me sick. I needed to leave the room when a newspaper was lying around. But I kept it mostly to myself because I was just laughed at. As I got older, I noticed more odours making me nauseated, sometimes to the point of vomiting. My father wore aftershave, my mom loved cologne. My grandmother sprayed the bathroom with “air freshener” – I tried to hold my breath if I had to go at her house. It was so gross! Friends and family thought I was crazy or making symptoms up. Brain fog was a major contributor that got me into trouble in school – lack of concentration and a wandering mind. Because I never knew where we were when I was called on to read or answer questions, I was accused of daydreaming!

I had many allergies, a well-recognized medical problem treated with antihistamines and allergy shots. But if there was no itchiness, swelling or hives, no one understood why I said other things could make me sick too! Food sensitivities also made me feel moderately gross. Moderate is what makes me lucky. A reaction to scents makes it harder to tolerate foods that don’t always bother me.

Some products give me a worse reaction than others. Laundry and house cleaning products, bath and hair products, soaps and perfumes really set me off.

I recall a few years ago taking my mother to an appointment at a large cancer center in Toronto. The doctors were running late and the waiting area was crammed with people. There was a thick confluence of scents in that room and I became so sleepy, nauseated and bloated.

I realize that I’m lucky. When I find myself in those situations, if I can remove myself from the culprits, have a brisk walk, or substitute the smell that is in my olfactory memory with an odour that I can tolerate, and then the symptoms fade away quickly.

I realize how fortunate I am that I recover fairly quickly from these episodes and really sympathize with my fellow MCSers whose symptoms are worse, more frequent and persist longer.