A dog owner has to rely on her four-year-old Labrador to detect warning signs of her life-threatening allergic reactions, as those valuable minutes could ultimately save her life
A British student revealed she could only eat about 25 foods without risking a life-threatening allergic reaction, as her body continued developing new allergies.
Kate Hegan, 22, spent every day fearing it could be her last, after being diagnosed with the rare condition mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). The condition causes her body to react unpredictably to food, smells, temperature changes and even her own hormones.
The teaching student, from Somerset, said one thing had made the terrifying condition easier to live with – her black Labrador, Kenny, who could warn her 10 minutes before she was went into anaphylaxis.
Kate told Creatorzine: “Currently, I can only eat around 25 foods without my life being on the line and it’s not just food that my body reacts to; it’s even my own hormones, bodily processes, smells and temperature changes.
“Now, it’s our sofa – It’s absolutely terrifying, as when I go into anaphylaxis, I’ve got minutes before I’m dead. I’m trying to live as normally as possible, with caution, but with every meal, everything I do, I’m so scared.
“I’ve had to openly have conversations with my parents about what to do when I die. At my age, I shouldn’t have to be doing that. Despite that, and it’s weird to say, but the whole thing has just become so normal to me. Spending each day worrying it might be my last isn’t so bizarre anymore.”
Kate was diagnosed with MCAS shortly before her 18th birthday in 2022. She takes 15 medications a day and paid about £1,000 a month for antibody injections because they were not funded on the NHS where she lived.
But her biggest lifeline came in the form of Kenny, her dog. She said: “He paces up and down, does all the tricks he knows and just becomes very restless. Kenny will talk to me and if he’s really concerned, will let out a bark.
“He won’t take any touching, toys, treats or anything else while alerting. He really means business – especially when a reaction turns to anaphylaxis – and will give me a 10-minute warning so I can prepare. I get a proper Paddington-style stare from him.”
Kenny, a four-year-old black Labrador, was provided by the charity Medical Detection Dogs. Although Kenny had originally been matched with Kate because of another condition, he quickly became an essential part of managing her MCAS and, she said, had saved her life on multiple occasions.
From a young age Kate had battled unexplained health problems. She said: “I had a lot of issues growing up. I used to have a squint and only had 50 percent of my hearing, which I later had surgery to fix. On top of that, I had no bladder control and I bruised very easily from head to toe. Then, the reflex anoxic seizures started. For up to two minutes, my heart would completely stop and once, I had 24 in one day.”
She added: “No one could find the problem. My mum stayed up Googling my symptoms for hours and began to connect the dots. After I fell down a flight of stairs and gave myself a concussion, along with a broken wrist, it was only a matter of time before I would have accidentally killed myself. I passed out in science once and hit my head on the desk behind me.”
“I had to wear protective headgear as I was already suffering with memory issues, vision loss and speech problems and so I was referred to GOSH, where a tilt table test was carried out. I was strapped onto a bed and my blood pressure, along with my heart rate, was monitored. I passed out immediately as it tilted me to standing.”
The tests led to Kate being diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), a condition that caused her heart rate to rise abnormally when she stood up, triggering frequent fainting episodes.
The years without answers left Kate feeling trapped. She said: “All I wanted was five seconds of peace. Everything was crumbling around me, as my aspirations of becoming a nurse were gone. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to be by myself again and I felt trapped in this never-ending cycle.”
Everything changed when Kenny came into her life. With his help, Kate regained her independence, returned to university and is now preparing to graduate as a primary school teacher. She added: “If I could speak to him, I’d want to make sure he knew how invaluable he is. I’ve had reactions where, if it wasn’t for Kenny, I’d be dead.
“I couldn’t see the point in living anymore before he came to me. He’s shown me there is something to live for and I will be around to find out what that is.”
