Woman suffers excruciating pain, violent seizures and incontinence – caused by the WEATHER

Katie Steward has given up her Essex home to try and stop the debilitating illness which has left her often bed-bound

Ellie Cambridge

Published: 11:15, 13 Sep 2016
Updated: 11:34, 13 Sep 2016

A BRITISH women ends up in so much pain, sometimes with violent seizures and incontinence, when the wind blows and has been forced to move to Spain to escape the weather.

Long suffering Katie Steward has a rare condition where she is very sensitive to airborne chemicals and mould.

Katie Steward says she feels like her spine and brain will explode when the wind blows and worsens her conditionCredit: Mercury Press

She ends up in so much pain, sometimes with violent seizures and incontinence, when the wind blows and has been forced to move to Spain to escape the weatherCredit: Mercury Press

So when the wind blows and moves these particles, she is effectively poisoned.

She says doctors have refused to believe her condition is real and have diagnosed her with ME.

The 39-year-old made the decision to move abroad and leave her Essex home to escape the ordeals which occur when the weather is bad - which is often in the UK.

When the wind blows she says she feels like her brain and spine will explode.

She is so sensitive to light, sound and touch that she must spend hours alone in a darkened room.

She first left the UK for relief in Spain in 2014, but is now fundraising to move to a more remote chemical-free mountain location in New Mexico, USA.

Katie, who previously trained to be an opera singer, said: "For years I had believed what doctors had told me – that while ME may feel awful, it wasn't a dangerous illness.

The 39-year-old made the decision to move abroad and leave her Essex home to escape the ordealsCredit: Mercury Press

She says doctors have refused to believe her condition is real and have diagnosed her with MECredit: Mercury Press

"Then suddenly, without any warning, I was dying.

"Everything gave way at once – my gut broke down, I began seizing, I became incontinent, I couldn't raise my head from the pillow or tolerate light, noise, movement or any stimulation at all.

"I got to the stage I was in such excruciating agony I couldn't tolerate any touch or anyone coming into my room.

"I was so desperate for human contact and comfort but the illness forced me into isolation. It was a living hell."

She was diagnosed with ME 24 years ago after a bout of flu which continued and became bed-bound.

In 2012 tests at a specialised environmental illness hospital confirmed she was highly sensitive to many chemicals, moulds and foods. By 2013 she lost the ability to eat solid foods and lost five stone in five months, taking her to a dangerously low six stone.

She was diagnosed with agoraphobia - a fear of open or public places - although she was so weak she could barely lift her head from the pillow.

In 2014 an online search found a group of people with similar problems, and her theory that moving to a dry and remote climate grew.

In 2012 tests at a specialised environmental illness hospital confirmed she was highly sensitive to many chemicals, moulds and foodsCredit: Mercury Press

By 2013 she lost the ability to eat solid foods and lost five stone in five months, taking her to a dangerously low six stoneCredit: Mercury Press

Katie begged to test the theory and two weeks later travelled to the north Norfolk coast by private ambulance – and the next day was able to walk from her bed and even eat.

She was then transported by motorhome to a villa in Tabernas, a town in the Almeria desert in Spain, but her condition worsened on arrival and she discovered the area was popular for olive farming.

Katie was again moved to the Costa del Sol and, having lived there for the last year, is able to eat a little, wash and dress herself but still needs 24-hour care.

The airborne chemicals from crop-spraying over the summer has caused her health to decline again and she fears if she is forced to return to the UK she will die from toxic overload.

Katie's friends and family have launched a fundraising target of £10,000 to pay for a motorhome in the USA, but also need short term cash to find a new European home for her for the winter.