Kidney failure, seizures, vision loss,exhaustion, serum sickness

I’m Katie Glaeser, 15 years old. I received a Presidential Academic Achievement Award for five years of straight A’s. I received my last Hepatitis B vaccine on December 10, 1998. I became ill 13 days later.

My joints swelled up, I became achy, started having seizures and my vision deteriorated. Nauseousness and headaches started immediately. My kidneys stopped functioning and I gained twenty-five pounds overnight. I haven’t been back to school since December 19th.

I can no longer play soccer, do things with my friends, go to school or do anything a normal 15 year old enjoys. Light, smells and sound make the pain in my head worse. I’m too exhausted to care much anymore. I now have to wear glasses to correct my vision; but I still have only half of my normal vision. I don’t have any desire for food; I’m becoming allergic to all kinds things. My day centers on managing pain and exhaustion, not the normal stuff for a 15 yr. old.
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