(NAPSA)—A house full of guests. Cooking for a crowd. Financial pressures and end-ofyear deadlines. For many, the hol- idays can evoke feelings ofstress rather than cheer. For people living with chronic rare diseases like Michelle Hardy, stress may have an even greater impact. Michelle experienced herfirst attack of a rare disease called hereditary angioedema (HAE) when she was 17. After having her wisdom teeth removed, the swell- ing she experienced was far from normal: Her eyes swelled shut and her lips were so swollen she was unrecognizable. Michelle's doctor didn’t know how to treat the attack, but within a few days, she was back to normal. At the time, neither Michelle nor her physician knew that she was living with HAE, a rare genetic disorder that causes painful and potentially life-threatening swelling attacks through the body, including arms, legs, face, abdomen and upper airway. Michelle spent nearly 20 years coping with HAE attacks before she was diagnosed. During this time, she did her best to battle through her symptoms and not let HAE inter- fere with herlife. She also became awareof the importanceofstress management and wellness whenliving with chronic diseases. Identify and understand your personal stressors. *Whenyou feel yourself getting stressed, stop and take deep breaths. Adopt a healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise and good sleeping habits. Talk to your doctorif you find yourself overwhelmedbystress. Forfamilies like Michelle’s, the holidays can also provide an oppor- tunity to discuss rare genetic disor- ders such as HAE. In Michelle's case, she was able to get diagnosed,after 20 years of mystery, because hersis- ter heard about HAE from a physician friend. By sharing that knowledge, others in Michelle’s family havebeenableto get an HAE diag- nosis sooner. As the case of Michelle and herfamily demonstrates, dis- cussing rare genetic disorders can bring previously unknowninformationto light and help family memnot just treating the symptomsof bersin understanding their disease. yourdisease, but taking a proactive “Once I received my diagnosis, I approach to wellness and being an took control of my life,” Michelle informed patient. For people with said. “I became an expert in my genetic disorders, being informed hereditary angioedematailored treatmeansthat they know their family’s ment, understandingits genetic orihistory with the disease and have gins in my family, and how to apply shared that information with their stress management and wellness “For HAE patients, and for everyone, living a healthy lifestyle means physicians. We can then use that information to develop an effective treatment plan,” said Dr. Mark D. Scarupa of the Institute for Asthma tactics to provide myselfthe oppor- tunity to lead a healthylifestyle even with this disorder.” Today, Michelle knowsthat stress & Allergy, who has been treating managementis an important part HAE patients for over 10 years. of maintaining her general wellMichelle sometimes felt as though being. She considers herself lucky item on an extensiveto-do list at a family and friends, she was able to stress managementwasjust another that in addition to her supportive busytimeof the year. She found that find an organization dedicated to byliving mindfully, she was able to advocating for people living with enjoy the holidays and make the HAE, the US Hereditary Angiomostof time with herfamily. If you edema Association (US HAEA, have experiences similar to www.haea.org). Her challenging Michelle's, stress management, coach path to diagnosis also inspired her Pamela Cappetta, Ed. D., NCC,rec- to become a Patient Ambassadorfor ommendsthefollowingtactics to Shire (www.shire.com), a pharmamanagestress: ceutical company focused on rare * Adjust your perspective: Set your intention daily to be positive and hopeful. diseases like HAE, to help raise awareness about HAE andthe supportavailable.
