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| Scott and Johanna Watkins |
A woman in Minnesota, is raising money to build a technologically advanced home after becoming allergic to the scene to of her own husband.
Scott and Johanna Watkins, are a young married couple who have been battling a life threatening illness, which before diagnosis, they had never even heard of.
Johanna of Minneapolis, has a severe, progressive case of Mast Cell Disease, which causes her body to develop life-threatening anaphylactic reactions to just about anything.
She has a current list of over one hundred allergies, including many foods, scents, and various environmental triggers. She has experienced anaphylaxis and been hospitalized more times than they can count.
While they thought their lives couldn’t get any worse, a few months ago, Johanna began to develop allergic reactions to the natural chemicals and body odors that people release, including that of her husband.
Although still happily married, the two have been living in separate areas and are unable to be together.
At the moment, her body only tolerates the presence of her siblings, and they have bravely taken on the role of her hands-on caregivers.
There is no known cure for this disease, and its treatment is a complicated puzzle.
For two years, she has been trying various medications without success, and she recently underwent four rounds of chemotherapy in an attempt to stop the progression of the disease.
Unfortunately, chemotherapy was not enough to reign in her broken body. For the past several months, the two made a temporary home in the house of Dan and Lucy Olson.
In order to stay alive and out of constant anaphylaxis, Johanna has been isolated to an upstairs bedroom, fitted with an air-lock and HEPA air filters.
The Olson family has given up all in-home cooking and scented household products. Scott has been living in a basement bedroom.
Due to the life-threatening nature of Johanna’s illness and her unknown prognosis, it became clear at the start of the summer that they were in need of a safer, more permanent home.
In order for Johanna to be able to live in the new home, many changes need to be made.
To make the home fully safe for her and a place where others can take care of her, it will need to include separate areas, including a living space for Johanna that contains a one-of-a-kind air filtration system, an allergen-free kitchen utilized only for the preparation of Johanna’s food, and a living space for Scott and any other caregivers while they are in the home.
The severity and life-threatening nature of her countless allergies require that all necessary installations be completed before she is moved into the home.
So far, the couple has raised more than $100,000 nearly reaching their goal of $118,000.
