Woman who blamed stress for concerning symptoms discovers it's more sinister
A woman was told she was stressed when she became so weak she was unable to smile - but doctors soon discovered it was something more sinister.
27-year-old Krystel El Koussa's journey began in August 2022 when she started experiencing extreme fatigue and muscle weakness, which soon progressed to the point where she could not even hold a cup. Despite initial misdiagnosis and doctors attributing her symptoms to stress, her condition deteriorated rapidly. She struggled to speak, smile, and even breathe, eventually leading her to the emergency room.
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It was there, after a series of tests, that doctors diagnosed her with myasthenia gravis (MG), a rare long-term autoimmune disease causing extreme muscle weakness. Krystel underwent intensive treatments, including intravenous immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis, in addition to open-chest surgery to remove a malignant thymoma discovered during the process.
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She was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)
Krystel El Koussa before the surgery (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)Krystel, of Montreal, Canada, said: "Every day I started feeling unusual, extreme fatigue, which was weird for me because I was a very active person. Weeks later, fatigue turned into weakness in my limbs and fingers. I couldn’t hold a cup, couldn’t tie my hair. By the end of the day, I couldn’t even type an e-mail. Normal daily tasks became almost impossible.”
Visiting multiple GPs, Krystel underwent blood tests and ECGs, which all returned with no results, unable to do anything but rest, eat well and exercise.
She said: “I could still feel something was wrong with my body. Before I knew it, I couldn’t swallow properly, couldn’t smile! My speech would start to get slurred when I was out with my friends.
“I started falling out of nowhere without being able to get up. It was terrifying, nothing like you could ever imagine!”
Krystel El Koussa as a child (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)
Krystel the day after her surgery (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)On December 5, 2022, she visited the ER for the fourth time, struggling to breathe, and was immediately admitted to the ICU and diagnosed with MG. Doctors started IVIG treatment, known as intravenous immunoglobin, a procedure where healthy antibodies are injected into the patient.
As a precaution, a chest CT scan was performed, with doctors discovering a thymoma, a malignant tumour.
She said: “After finishing the IVIG treatment, my symptoms did not completely disappear, so I was administered plasmapheresis [removal of unhealthy blood and/or reintroduction of clean plasma] while still being in the ICU.
“I spent Christmas in the operating room, undergoing open-chest surgery to remove the tumour. It was the hardest and most painful thing I’ve ever been through. To say the month of December was traumatizing for me is an understatement.”
Krystel undergoes a physiotherapy session (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)
Krystel being discharged from hospital (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)Finally returning home, Krystel received her biopsy results, being told the tumour was cancerous.
She said: “I was shocked. Being diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disease AND cancer at the same time is not easy to grasp.”
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Now, 10 months post-op, she is still undergoing physiotherapy sessions, to rehabilitate her after her thoracic surgery,
She said: “My muscles became very de-conditioned due to this tough surgery, after which I also suffered a pulmonary embolism. With the help of my physiotherapist and the MG medication I take to control my symptoms, I am working on regaining my muscle strength.”
Krystel receiving Plex treatment (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)Adjusting to her new life has been difficult for Krystel, as she is now unable to do things she used to do.
She said: “It is definitely not easy living with any chronic illness, let alone MG, the snowflake disease. Every day is different - one day there are fewer symptoms, the next day a lot of symptoms. I miss everything about my old life, especially since I was an athlete and a very active person. I know I can't go hike, go to the beach and then to a party all in one day, now, like I once did before."
Despite everything, she won’t let it get her down, learning to adapt to her new lifestyle.
Krystel added: “I learned to be patient with myself, with my body. Going through all of this made me eager to live life even more than I used to before. Being newly diagnosed, I’m slowly finding a new rhythm in my life while still recovering from the surgery and other complications I had.
Krystel hiking before her surgery (Jam Press/Krystel El Koussa)“I have a lot of other friends’ groups who were very understanding when I skipped a lot of outings and just patiently waited for me to be ready to go out again. To these friends, I say thank you for being the people I needed by my side.”
Krystel's resilience shone through as she faced the challenges of post-operative recovery. Ten months after the surgery, she continues her journey to regain muscle strength through physiotherapy sessions. In an effort to raise awareness about MG and advocate for mental health support, Krystel established an Instagram page (@krystel.k).
She has now defied the odds by overcoming a rare autoimmune disease and cancer, becoming an advocate for mental health support along the way.
Her message stresses the importance of mental health care in the face of chronic illnesses, encouraging others to be patient with their bodies and supportive of one another. She said: "The most important part of any recovery, I would say, is taking care of your mental health. Being diagnosed with a chronic illness isn’t easy.
"We just need to be patient and understanding with our bodies and supportive of one another. I know it’s hard to accept this harsh reality but our lives are not over. We are not defined by our chronic illnesses. We are so much more than that."
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