Lara Ransom
This story is part of the Guts UK Pancreatitis Awareness Campaign.
On November 2018 Guts UK launched a campaign to raise awareness of pancreatitis and funds for research. Please help us by sharing this story on Facebook and on Twitter tagging @GutsCharityUK.
Lara Ransom’s Story
My name is Laura Ransom and I had severe necrotising pancreatitis. I experienced absolutely horrendous pain that you can’t even describe. You think at the time you would rather be dead than have the pain. Mine started the same day I gave birth to my little boy and I was in hospital for 6 months. As well as necrosis I also had a massive cyst, which had to be drained with a stent into my stomach. I also had to have a pancreatic necrosectomy (surgical removal of the necrotised, or dead, part of the pancreas) and my gall bladder removed.
I had never heard about pancreatitis until it was me who had it! A lot more awareness and research needs to go into helping those with pancreatitis, as well as helping their families dealing with their loved one suffering in pain a lot of the time. People need to know it IS NOT just alcoholics who suffer as I was not a drinker at all and neither are a lot of other people I have met on support groups. Now I don’t take life for granted, yet at the age of 24 you don’t think you would have had so many health problems, all from the pancreatitis. It’s also very hard to cope with the feeling of not knowing when the next attack is going to happen. Is it going to kill me? Will I see my kids grow up who are only two, four and five? I have joined great support groups and have learned more from those groups than from anything else.
What can you do?
Fancy fundraising for Guts UK? Have a coffee morning or dinner party with our pancreatitis quiz for the Kranky Panky Weekend. Or maybe you take our quiz and ‘Pin the Pancreas on the Person’ game into work with a collection tin? Your donations will make our research into pancreatitis happen. Thank you.
More information
Find out about acute and chronic pancreatitis in our Conditions section and read tips and suggestions on how to manage chronic pancreatitis from those affected by this condition.
Lara after her recovery.