A 15 year old girl who is allergic to anything can be killed by a strong smell

Her family has revealed that a 15-year-old girl with a rare disease could be killed by a strong odor.

Martina Baker, a native of Maine, United States, suffers from mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), an immunologic condition that makes her allergic to "almost anything," including heat, water, and the perfumes.

Even a puff of cooking oil or bleach could send the teenager into anaphylactic shock, and if the treatment was not administered immediately, Martina could die.

She is also very allergic to marijuana smoke, which poses a difficult problem for the teenager, since the drug has recently been legalized in her home country.

But now, after raising $ 10,000 (£ 7,700), there is new hope for Martina as her family has been able to provide her with a highly trained badistance dog that could help her save her life. .

With Caiomhe by her side, Martina recently managed to watch a movie at the cinema for the first time in years, which gave her a new lease of life.

"Caiomhe has changed my life, I feel so much safer with her that I can have a social life again," said Martina, who was forced to miss school and stay home in a closed room to prevent anaphylactic shock.

"I've lost a lot of friends after developing MCAS, it's hard for people to handle it, watch me crash and take my EpiPen and be transported to it." Hospital all the time, "added Martina, who lives in Wiscbadet.

"It can sometimes be very lonely, but Caiomhe is always on my side to protect me, she is certainly a best friend.

"It makes me feel less alone, she watches me even in the middle of the night."

Until two and a half years ago, Martina was completely healthy, but overnight, terrifying symptoms invaded her.

"I was allergic to nothing before, then one day I woke up with hives all over my body.

"I had to go to the hospital because of an anaphylactic reaction, my throat swelled with hives, they treated me with an EpiPen."

The student's problems only intensify from there.

"The hives lit up all the time, she was in anaphylactic shock and we had to rush her to the emergency room about three times a week," said Loretta Morse Leighton, 48, mother of Martina, a family therapist.

"We never knew what really caused it."

Last summer, a skunk was sprayed in front of Martina's bedroom window. She suffered anaphylactic shock and had to be rushed to A & E.

"Then she had to live at a friend's house for nearly two weeks, while the windows and the door to her room were completely sealed, it was awful," recalls Loretta.

For months, doctors were confused by Martina's state of health.

"We took her to see a specialist in every major discipline, from cardiologists to psychologists," said Loretta, who eventually took Martina to a Mbadachusetts immunologist, Jonathan Bayuk, who correctly diagnosed him with MCAS.

Thanks to Caiomhe and the usual mast cell stabilizing drugs, the anaphylactic episodes of Martina have been reduced from three times a week to once every four to six weeks.

Martina often wears a mask when she goes out and the family must stay very careful at home.

Loretta cleans with vinegar instead of cleaning products and has stopped using all the detergents on the sheets and clothes.

They must practice "cooking without smell" and spend a lot of time grilling outside, even in winter.

Martina is extremely sensitive to heat and her room is not heated at all, even during the freezing winters of Maine.

"I do not know how she tolerates the cold, she lives like a penguin in there," laughs Loretta.

Last year, Loretta discovered that an badistance dog could help her daughter.

Caiomhe was formed by Jamie Robinson, a specialist in Tucson, Arizona – one of the only ones in the world to train dogs to badist MCAS patients.

Jamie taught Caiomhe to identify a long list of odors that are triggers representing a death threat for Martina.

"The nose of a dog is about 100,000 times better than a human nose and almost all of our body's biochemical processes are marked by a change of fragrance," said Jamie, 66, who heads his own service dog business called Access to Service Corp.

Jamie asked Martina to send her the clothes that she had worn so that Caiomhe could get used to her scent, even when she was in anaphylaxis, because, for a dog, that scent is different.

Caiomhe can now detect Martina's reaction before Martina realizes it, as she can feel the release of histamine through her body.

Martina and Caiomhe, three years old, were reunited for the first time on January 5th and have since been indissociable.

"Martina has endured a lot of derogatory remarks, etc., people do not understand, it's very difficult for her but she has remained extremely strong, I'm so proud of her," Loretta said.

"I feel that Caiomhe was destined to be the guardian angel of my daughter.

"In Martina's pictures now with Caiomhe, I see joy, light, and life, a spark that has been missed and stolen since this terrible disease took over." Caiomhe reported this to her new, wonderful and amazing way. "

For more information on MCAS, visit: https://tmsforacure.org/symptoms/symptoms-and-triggers-of-mast-cell-activation/