Illness Could Kill Me at Any Moment ; EXCLUSIVE MY MOTHER DIED OF THIS MYSTERY HEART DISEASE – NOW I FEAR FOR MY SON AND MY UNBORN BABY
By ADAM ASPINALL
MICHELLE Murray is living life one day at a time – after being warned she could die at any moment.
The pregnant Midland teacher has been diagnosed with Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, a rare and almost undetectable condition which stops the heart.
The mystery illness claimed the life of her 56 year-old mother, Christine Cruoutear, last August.
Now, Michelle has been diagnosed with SADS and fears her two year- old son Nicholas and unborn child may also be carriers.
“It has come as a massive shock because, theoretically, I could die at any moment,” she said.
Michelle, 30, only learned of her health nightmare after Christine died while being driven home from a holiday in Cornwall last summer.
Specialists examined her heart and discovered she was suffering from the condition, also known as Brugada’s Syndrome.
It has no symptoms but kills eight apparently fit and healthy people in Britain each year.
“Losing Mum was terrible,” said three months pregnant Michelle, from Stourbridge in the Black Country.
Calm
“But although it sounds horrible, it was only by losing her we found out we were carrying this disease in the family.
“All my relatives had to be tested. It was very scary but for some reason I was calm – I just knew I would have it.”
Michelle was tested along with her younger sister Hayley, 18, and her mum’s siblings – but only she had inherited the condition.
She now faces an agonising wait to discover whether son Nicholas also carries the disease. He is too young to be tested at the moment.
“My biggest worry is for Nicholas and my unborn baby,” she said. “There is no way they can test them for the syndrome at their young age.
“Just because I have it doesn’t mean they will have it, too, so I am just focusing on having a healthy pregnancy.”
After giving birth, Michelle – a special needs teacher at Brier School in Kingswinford – will undergo surgery to be fitted with an Internal Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD).
This is the only method of combating the condition. It will act as a ‘jumpstart’ for her heart should it stop.
Michelle explained: “The only other way to deal with this is to get to a defibrillator kit within 40 seconds of your heart stopping. Unless you carry one around with you all the time, that’s not going to happen, is it?
“You will never know you have this syndrome unless you get tested for it.
“I think of it like adult cot death because the majority of people who die do so in their sleep.
“It can happen at any time to anyone. Children as young as two have been known to die from it.
“But I have not let it affect my everyday life. I feel fine in myself and know I must be strong for my family.”
Michelle’s father Philip Croutear, 57, is still coming to terms with the loss of his wife, and feels more needs to be done to understand SADS.
“As a family, we had to learn almost everything we know about this disease from the internet,” he said. “That is a terrible position to be in.
“The problem is most of the medics you come across know absolutely nothing about it, so you have to educate them.
“There are only five people in the entire country who can diagnose this condition because it is so new and mysterious.”
For more information on Sudden Adult Death Syndrome contact the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) on 01737 363 222 or e-mail cry@c-r-y.org.uk
adam_aspinall@mrn.co.uk
(c) 2007 Sunday Mercury; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.