罕見疾病致“過學死”
Many teenagers have a phobia of exams - but for Jennifer Lloyd it could KILL her.
Brainy Jennifer has a rare condition called Addison’s disease, meaning her body reacts to stress by shutting down her vital organs instead of producing adrenaline.
It means she has turned down a chance to apply to Oxford or Cambridge University and is stretching out her AS-level revision out over several months.
Jennifer, 17, said: “It’s very tough when it gets to exam season as I have to balance my time perfectly.
“The illness leaves me very tired, so my mum often finds me asleep in my books while I’ve been studying.
“I know I can’t let myself get unnecessarily stressed out, so I have to be much more organised than my friends.
“As a result I have a strict schedule where, if I do an hour of revision, I have to rest for two hours before doing any more.
“It means I can be short on time so I start preparing weeks in advance of everyone else to fit everything in.”
The student, from Prestwich, Manchester, is studying at Pendleton Sixth Form College which offered her the chance to look at Oxford and Cambridge under its ‘gifted and talented’ scheme.
She turned it down, adding: “It is such an honour - but I just don’t feel ready to move away yet.
“My college has been incredibly supportive - my teachers know the danger signs and can call my mum straight away if they think I’m getting ill.
“I did most of my revision last year hooked up to a drip in hospital - my weight dropped to 5st10lb because my stomach stopped absorbing fats.
“I was thrilled when I managed to gain 10 A grades and 2 A*s though - all the stress paid off!”
If Jennifer doesn’t receive rapid treatment, her eyes roll to the back of her head and she starts vomiting, requiring urgent hospital treatment.
She now carries a hydro-cortisone injection at all times to stop the disease.許多青少年有考試恐懼症——但對於珍妮弗•勞埃德來說，考試會殺了她。
聰慧的珍妮弗患了一種罕見的疾病叫做阿狄森氏病，她的身體通過關閉她的重要器官去反抗壓力，不產生腎上腺素。
她已經拒絕了申請牛津或劍橋大學的機會，她準備中學準高級水平考試已經幾個月了。
17歲的珍妮弗說：“當考試季來臨時，這對於我來說真的很艱難，我必須平衡我的時間。
“這種病讓我感到很累，所以我媽媽經常發現我在學習時會趴在桌子上睡着。”
“我知道我不能讓我自己總是感到不必要的壓力，所以我必須比我的朋友更有組織性。”
“因此我有一個嚴格的時間表，如果我做了一個小時的複習，那麼我在做其他事之前就需要休息兩個小時。”
“這意味着我總是缺少時間，所以我提前幾周準備去適應一切。”
來自曼徹斯特，在彭德爾頓六年級學院學習的學生，給她看了牛津和劍橋的資優教育計劃。
她拒絕了，並補充道：“這是一種榮譽,但我並沒有準備好。”
“我的大學已經得到了令人難以置信的支持——我的老師知道我身體的危險信號，如果他們認爲我生病了可以馬上打電話給我媽媽。”
“去年我在醫院做了大部分的複習，我的體重降至了10磅，因爲我的胃已經停止吸收脂肪。”
“當我的成績得到了10個A和兩個AS後我真的很高興——所有的壓力都得到了回報!”
如果詹妮弗沒有得到及時的治療，她的眼睛會向後翻並且會開始嘔吐，她要求緊急住院治療。
現在爲了阻止疾病的復發，她在注射一種氫化可的鬆的藥物。
