My anthology piece has been extremely difficult for me to write as I am a HS sufferer myself. While many people still don’t know anything about this disease, I have been dealing with it since the tender age of twelve. At the time, there wasn’t even a name for it, no real treatment and no guidance as to how to handle the symptoms. It wasn’t until ten years later, had I been given a proper diagnosis and a name for the disease that plagued me all throughout high school… Hidradenitis Suppurativa aka HS.
HS is a chronic, incurable, immune-mediated inflammatory condition. It can have an effect on multiple aspects of the body, but also have significant psycho-social impact on its sufferers which can be more damaging than the physical effects of the disease. Some of the sufferers of HS deal with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Other mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder is also very common due to the pain, symptoms, odor and often the idea of the synchronicity of the disease.
Currently there is no cure for HS. And while, I don’t know if one will materialize during my lifetime, I cling on to hope that more people will become aware of this disease and will seek out more research.
For my sister, who also suffers from this debilitating disease, I hope that this anthology and the funds it raises bring awareness and helps us get towards finding a cure for the millions who suffer.
Please share and help me spread the word about this disease!
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