A mum has finally been diagnosed with a mystery illness that has cost her nine jobs and her hair – after 13 years.
Desperate Jaks Cotten, 28, has suffered from breathing difficulties, pneumonia, flu, anxiety, depression, aches, pains and a lack of energy since she was 15.
She said she has had no choice but to give up nine jobs over the last three years due to being too poorly to fulfil her roles.
However, the determined mum to seven-year-old Eli, said that when she lost one job she always fought to gain another as she hated being unemployed.
Recently she was admitted to hospital again having suffered a collapsed lung and needing a bronchoscopy.
And on Friday she finally has some answers after waiting 13 years to be diagnosed.
Jaks, of Plymouth, Devon, was told she had severe refractory eosinophilic asthma and inflammatory lung disease.
Due to the trauma and high dosage of steroids she was given she found her thick, long blonde hair was coming out in chunks which only got worse once she was discharged.
After having her hair cut to a grade two and it still not growing back she recently made the brave decision to shave her hair off for good.
Her selfless act raiseed money for the MIND charity and Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital.
Jaks said: “I was in hospital again a few weeks ago with a partial collapsed lung and needing a bronchoscopy and hospital treatment with oxygen and several different drips.
“It was awful but I was looked after well by the lovely Derriford staff.
“But while I was in due to the stress of everything and the high dose of steroids I was on my hair began to fall out.
“I had lovely thick blonde hair, it was quite long and wavey. It got worse and worse after I was discharged.
“So the beautiful ladies at GG’s hair salon took it down to a grade two for me and I was hoping it would grown back.
“But then I became ill again, and lost my job due to poor health, and my husband had a seizure causing him to give up his job, because it requires him to have a driving licence and car – both of which he lost as result of the seizure.”
Jaks’ mental health also began to suffer at the hands of the illness.
She added: “I started to lose more hair and spiral into sadness.
“But I thought stuff it, I’m going to make the most of this, so I contacted family and friends and previous employers and said I was going to shave it completely bald for charity.”
Mum-of-one Jaks is about to start a trial drug to assist with her asthma because at the moment her body is resisting treatment.
She will stay under different specialists whilst they investigate her inflammatory lung disease and will have to attend hospital four times a week.
