Idiopathic angioedema. I had no idea that this rare condition existed until my friend, Vanessa told me a few years ago that she was suffering from it. Chronic angioedema is a disease that has been given very little analysis and research. Physicians don't know what causes it.
This life-threatening condition is triggered by medications, dyes,
environmental components, foods, trauma, and other elements that act as
allergens, releasing histamine into the blood stream, and oft times
causing anaphylactic shock. In addition to an extremely stripped down
diet—usually mimicking anorexia—and other necessary avoidances, the
major treatment to date is large quantities of antihistamines on a daily
basis and, when exacerbated, epinephrine injections and
steroids--although these drugs prove to be ineffective for the rarer,
Bradykinin form of angioedema.
Not one to be passive, Vanessa has been working tirelessly over the past three years to create
Life Without a Fork, a film who's goal is to find a cause and cure for chronic angioedema. The 80-minute documentary follows Vanessa, Brian Holden, Shelline Ross, Heather Campbell, Jacqueline Griffin, and Spencer Slama as they live with angioedema. The accounts range from humorous to emotional, from the practical to the educational.
Life Without a Fork aims to educate and raise awareness. As the film's
Kickstarter page states:
There are many people who have fallen prey to this condition and whose
lives may be saved by making this infirmity as publicized and important
as the more reputed diseases of Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, diabetes,
cardiovascular, and cancer.
Please take the time to visit the film's
Kickstarter page to learn more and support. Even the smallest contributions make a difference. Help bring
Life Without a Fork to the big screen!
