- Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
- Interviews
Kevin's interview
How did all start?
Long term exposure to herbicide and to indoor painting products as side businesses.
Do you already have a diagnosis? How long did it take you to get it?
No, I am self diagnosed and wanting to find a professional health care provider to assist in diagnosis and treatment/management.
For what medical specialties have you been treated? What has been the most useful specialty for your?
None. My GP is at best skeptical that MCS is a real thing, and is not advocating on my behalf.
What has been the most useful thing for you so far?
Finding the supportive group on Facebook/Meta called Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. They have been essential in my stabilizing my condition as best as can be done by non-professionals.
What have been your biggest difficulties?
Losing my sick house, trying to find a place to live in safety. Losing my partner of ten years due to a family tragedy that left her devastated and unable to function... she has shut down and accepts no one to help her. Losing the ability to work, socialize with friends in real time, got to stores, buy clothing and supplies for living.
How has your social and family environment reacted? Have your social or family relationships changed?
My one surviving parent supports and believes that MCS is real. My extended family does not. My friends support me and believe me, thank God, but when I move from the Greater Toronto Area to somewhere that is safer for MCS (and where that is, I do not know, after months of searching), I will lose that support from them.
What things have you stopped doing?
Shopping at stores, going into medical buildings and hospitals, socializing in real time, working, going outside on days without good air quality.
What do you think about the future?
That it's going to be a very lonely, isolated life with MCS.
So far, which years have been the best years in your life? What have you done during them?
The 58 yrs. before this all manifested, when I lead a real life. This last year has seen all of that change.
What would you like to do if you didn’t have your condition?
Go on a vacation with a friend. Go into a restaurant and have a meal of food that doesn't have to be completely organic. Hug a person or make some kind of body contact that doesn't scare me.
If you had to describe your life in a sentence, what would it be?
Radically changed.
Finally, what advice would you give to a person in a similar situation?
Don't give up. Keep fighting.
