My name is Sevi. I am from Greece and I was born in Aug. 1992.
I was diagnosed with Gaucher, type 1, in 2013.
When I was born I had huge and fat spleen and liver. Also, I was always a thin child with low hematocrit but my pediatric doctor gave me only vitamins and didn’t understand that something was wrong with me.
At the age of 18 I vomited and had diarrhea very often and after many tests I found gallstones so I had cholecystectomy. For one week I stayed at the hospital with a very high fever and doctors said for me to get a myelogram to clearly show what happens.
And then they said to me that I have Gaucher and they found me a suitable doctor for this disease. When I learned that I had it, my family and I were shocked and my daily life changed enough.
From 2013 till now I do my treatment (Cerezyme) at the hospital 2 times in a month and everything is in normal values. I would prefer to do it at my home for better treatment conditions and save time but it is very difficult in Greece for something like this. Although I try to be strong and optimistic.
-Sevi Anastasiadou; Greece