EDIT*** 
An enormous THANK YOU to all of our supporters, donators and sharers! 
Alfie and I are blown away with the support and messages we have received.  We ended up making 527 cards, all within the deadline, all of which made the recipients smile. 
We have also received a number of thank you cards, which has been so exciting!
We hope to do similar next year and have had a number of people interested in getting involved.  Please contact me if you'd like to support us in supporting Mast Cell Action.  A&A xxx***

Each year Mast Cell Action do fundraising called 500 Legs during the month of June.
Alfie and I have adapted this and have come up with the idea to make 500 happy cards for 500 residents in residential and nursing homes, in turn, creating 500 smiles.

Anna's Story:

Since birth, I have intermittently experienced an array of bizarre health symptoms, some more debilitating than others. I’m now thirty nine years old.

After becoming seriously unwell when living in Australia, we moved back home to the New Forest, towards the end of 2016.  

My symptoms flared again, awfully, and prior to our son starting primary school, I was housebound for eight months and bedridden for three months.  I had to live in one room with purifiers and a mask 24/7. 
At the age of 37, with a zest for life and having a young child to enjoy, I was completely halted, again.

Months passed and I bounced between numerous medics including four Neurologists, a Cardiologist, Endocrinologist, two ENT Specialists, a highly regarded General Physician, Physio, two Gastroenterologists, two top UK Immunologists and a Psychiatrist.  The majority concluded or implied it was mental health related. 
Every one of those Specialists failed to believe, diagnose and treat me. 
They failed to see my unique symptoms for what they were and frequently couldn’t see beyond their ‘medical bible’. 
I was desperate for answers to be able to receive correct treatment to help me.

My wonderful GP has been my saviour. 
She never doubted my debilitating symptoms, even when Specialists and other GPs rejected me.  She remained
strong enough to keep referring me until we got to some real answers and real help.  She showed compassion and resilience.  She gave me hope.
She recommended I see a Dietitian and was fortunate enough to have an appointment with Nutritionist, Amie Marshall, who, in less than an hour, identified I had serious histamine issues. 

It takes someone pretty special to believe the craziness I presented with, especially when I had been previously turned away by so many ‘medical experts’. 
Amie provided me with lifesaving recommendations,
which literally kept me alive until I received further support.  She has stuck by my side ever since.  

I had an appointment with Dr Croom, the UKs MCAS and allergy expert.  She suspected I had a rare disease called MCAS. 
She made sense of every strange and debilitating reaction symptom I suffered.  When I explained about how I'd have the same reaction from smelling perfume, to eating a grape, to sitting in the sunshine, to lifting the shopping... she explained how it all makes sense.
She wrote to my GP with recommendations of medications and tests.
These were the answers my family, GP and Amie had been striving for.

Mast Cell Action have provided me with invaluable 
information and support.  They have provided me with a community of other MCAS sufferers, which is so necessary when dealing with a rare disease so many medics and public have never heard of.  
They offer information to GPs and Specialists, offering support and education to them, to encourage MCAS awareness and in turn diagnosis and treatment.

MCAS and Me.

MCAS was first identified in the UK in 2007 and is known as the disease in which you’re ‘allergic to life’.  This is
shockingly apt.  

Mast cells are allergy cells in our bodies, which become inflamed at time of allergic reaction.  

My body sees all sorts of things as a threat and goes into allergic reaction, which can affect any and every system in my body. 

Each person living with MCAS has a variety of unique triggers, some quite unbelievable. 
My triggers include (but aren’t limited to) smells from perfumes, dishwasher tablets, plants, mould, deodorants,
cut grass, flowers, cleaning products; along with a wide range of foods currently including dairy, gluten, sugar, some nuts, legumes, kiwi, banana, pineapple, lemon (and sooooo many others!); temperature changes; medications; pollens;
and perhaps most bizarrely, I’m ‘allergic’ to lifting, and  exertion. 
Depending on how many triggers I’ve been subjected to in a day, depends on how much exertion my body can tolerate. 
The reason for this is because when a person lifts or takes strain, all sorts of chemicals are released in their bodies, one of which is histamine.  To the majority of people, these fluctuations in chemicals wouldn’t be noticed, however to someone with MCAS, that slight change in histamine can tip them into serious allergy response.  Strange but true- I couldn’t lift even a light bag or more than one plate at a time for months, prior to receiving MCAS medication.  Since taking mast cell stabilising medication I can now go for long walks and gentle cycles.  A dream come true. 

We take each day at a time and although reacting daily, my reactions are manageable and I am able to function to a fairly normal pace and most importantly be the Mummy I’ve so desperately wanted to be for such a long time. 

I take medications nine times per day and will continue to do so for the rest of my life, but it’s working brilliantly for me and has given me life back.

March to September are my most challenging months, where I react to pollen, whether I breath in fresh air or it touches my skin, previously having to remain wearing a mask and having air purifiers on constantly. 
This year is first year I am medicated correctly and so far I remain fairly stable.

As for symptoms... you wouldn't believe me if I told you!!

I am very fortunate to be here, to have these answers and treatment.  So many others like me completely slip
through the net and still desperately search for help.  So many others don’t respond to medications
as well as I have.

MCAS can be genetic... we continue to monitor Alfie...

Our family has been at a standstill for years and I’m forever grateful for the unwavering support from friends and family, who have stood by us even when my symptoms have been too crazy to believe and who have continued to remain in contact with me, despite my lack of contact back. 

My Mum has her daughter back, Alfie has his Mummy back and Ben and I can move forward… this story would have ended so differently, had it not have been for a few select professionals including Amie Marshall, my GP, Dr Munro from the National Migraine Centre and Jill Dodd.  These are all ‘Anna’s Angels’.

So now you know a little about my story and why Mast Cell Action means so much to my family and I. 

If '500 Happy Faces' reaches just one more Medical Professional, who is able to be more open to and take an interest in MCAS and how it can present...  I will be thrilled.

We do hope you will support Alfie and I in raising money for this superb charity.  Got to go now… we have 500
Happy Cards to make!

From Mast Cell Action:  

Our vision is to provide support, raise awareness and help advance the diagnosis and treatment of MCAS. 
With your help we aim to ensure that doctors across the UK have a greater awareness of this debilitating illness and will work to promote the development of more accurate tests leading to much quicker diagnosis and treatment.
We promise that every penny we raise will go towards achieving our aims.
Our mission: To lobby for universal awareness, diagnosis and treatment of MCAS. To provide support for MCAS patients and their families.To support doctors and researchers with an interest in MCAS. To persuade the medical community that, by recognising Mast Cell Activation Syndrome MCAS, there will be a huge opportunity for the much more effective use of resources within the medical system. To bring the Mast Cell Activation Syndrome patient community together and create a cohesive voice.
Mast Cell Action relies entirely on the generosity of people like you.
Thank you for your support!