A woman has shared her horrific health journey after being told by doctors, "we're expecting you to die".
21-year-old Jade Lynch has appealed to the public for donations to help her see a specialist in her rare disease abroad.
The young woman from Westport, Co. Mayo suffers from a rare condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a disease that weakens the connective tissues of your body. These are things like tendons and ligaments that hold parts of your body together.
EDS can make your joints loose and your skin thin and easily bruised. It also can weaken blood vessels and organs.
In her most recent update on her Facebook page Jade's crazy journey, Jade said: "I know when people hear of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, they think nothing of it it’s because it’s not known people don’t know the severity, the pain , the tears and the suffering it causes.
“It’s changed my entire life I can no longer eat or drink to gain nutrition because my Entire gastrointestinal tract is Paralysed.
“I’ve basically been living in the hospital since the age of 14.
“Being able to manage it for awhile until now it’s killing me im starving to death even with my feeding tubes.
“We’ve ran out of treatment options in Ireland everything we’ve tried so far has failed.
“I didn’t think I’d hear the words “we’re expecting you to die” so early in my life I feel good how can that be true?
“Fundraising to get to another country to see if they can save my life. If you can in anyway help me get the help I need it would mean the world”.
Jade has set up a Go Fund Me page and hopes that she will finally be able to live a normal life by raising money for treatment.
She said: “A Rare Disease- Having any Disease is horrible but having one that most doctors don’t know of is even worse, Takes years for a diagnosis and even after that NO Doctor in Ireland understands it or knows how to treat it we don’t have a specialist.
“It’s scary because dying scares me and I know that everytime I get rushed to hospital could be my last. We need a plan we need treatment that works.
“I know my health isn’t getting better it’s getting worse. I’m in hospital every week to make sure my bloods are ok and most the time they’re not and I get admitted.
“As my family say “That I’m Fading away”. Im afraid to sleep incase I never wake up.
“This journey isn’t getting easier and the more doctors involved the harder it’s getting because they’re not communicating.
“I just wanna live a bit of normality where I can travel with friends or just eat abit of food and not feel or be sick.”
You can donate to Jade’s journey here.
