Unpack That…

 “Well, that was a lot to unpack,” I thought after I hit publish on my previous posts but it’s true that you can only understand a story from the beginning. If this blog is my story then it’s up to me to tell it and do all the unpacking for you. 

Out here on Mars, the most pressing concerns are my health issues. As I mentioned I’ve spent most of my life sick with one thing or another thing, and then all the things. It wasn’t until I was 50 that I received the diagnosis of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. Here’s the definition from WEBMD.

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

“Mast cells are blood cells that are part of your immune system. They help you fight infections, but they are also involved in allergic reactions. Mast cells live longer than normal cells, and they grow in your bone marrow, your gastrointestinal tract, your skin, and your airways. 

When you come into contact with an allergen, or substance that causes allergies, mast cells release chemicals called mediators. Some chemicals are released right away, and some take longer. 

One of those chemicals is histamine, which might cause allergy symptoms. In a healthy person, these chemicals help protect and heal. In someone with mast cell activation syndrome, they have a negative effect. People who have mast cell activation syndrome might have a lot of allergy symptoms and lots of episodes of anaphylaxis without a clear cause. In a healthy person, these chemicals help protect and heal. In someone with mast cell activation syndrome, they have a negative effect. People who have mast cell activation syndrome might have a lot of allergy symptoms and lots of episodes of anaphylaxis without a clear cause.” 

I was diagnosed right before I caught Covid. The Covid virus uses mast cells to produce symptoms. In someone who has elevated mast cells you get a type of doubling of that triggers other health conditions. For me that meant triggering Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Epstein Barr Virus, Fibromyalgia, and Lyme’s disease. I also acquired several health conditions as a result, like Executive Funtion Disorder, ADHD, POTS and Post Exertional Malaise. All of this has caused me to be disabled and unable to work, think or even walk.

Mast cells are also impacted by the internal physical inflammation caused by stress has been linked now to early childhood trauma. Long Covid causes an acute state of the body in fight or flight mode. This creates a situation that when more stress is encountered the more inflammation is being caused in various body systems. Post Covid syndrome is diagnosed as a Central Nervous System injury and the elevation in mast cells creates disruption in my body’s ability to heal.

What does this mean for me on a daily basis? I have extreme pain and fatigue with nausea and I’ve lost my ability to walk more than 1000 steps and that took me over a year to reach with physical therapy. I’m currently living with my father because I need a lot of help. I had to withdrawal from graduate school and I’ve been unable to work. I’ve been put on some medications and had some treatments that have started to help. There’s no known, or unknown, recovery time for long Covid. Some people recover and some don’t. 

BUT as it turns out I’ve recovered from everything the medical experts have told me I wouldn’t recover from. I’ve been told I was terminal more than once and that’s why it feels important to keep sending messages back to Earth from my habitat on Mars. It’s possible to find healing and recovery and I promise you it’s always the hard way. For myself, I’d rather do the hard work of a low histamine diet than have my oxygen saturation to drop again. I’d rather stay on bed rest for two years than spend 40 years not being able to walk. If I had been given the choice, I will always choose a solo trip to Mars than to be sick.