Three years ago, Scott and Johanna Watkins married and expected to enter into a life of wedded bliss.
What they didn’t expect was for Johanna to progressively get sicker as their time together went on. Johanna Watkins found herself allergic to just about everything – and everyone – around her, including her husband. Johanna saw 30 different doctors after finding herself repeatedly getting sick and experiencing allergic reactions to nearly everything in her environment.
30 misdiagnoses later, she finally saw Dr. Lawrence Afrin based out of the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Afrin discovered that she has mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) which causes the mast cells in her body to send out the incorrect chemicals. Johanna really is allergic to nearly her entire environment as a result. Despite her body turning on her when she’s around her husband, Scott hasn’t let Johanna’s illness come between them.
He might have to take a room downstairs while she sleeps upstairs, but he’s accompanied her to doctor’s visits and is committed to finding a way to make her life a little easier.
Because of her condition, Scott can’t hug Johanna “without hurting her,” so he’s working on renovating a house to give her a floor that would act as her safe haven. Volunteers and donations have helped make the renovations possible.
Johanna said that she’s “grateful” for all of the help they’ve received and even more so that she’s “got another day.”
