Friends of a brave mum-of-three suddenly diagnosed with a life-altering illness which has left her in a wheelchair suffering from constant blackouts have launched a £75,000 fundraiser to send her to America for treatment.
Danielle Gardiner – known to family and friends as Dana – is currently battling Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) – a condition that causes fainting, blackouts, dizziness, palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath and headaches as well as other symptoms.
On top of that, she is also battling Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) – a condition that can cause seizures, difficulty with movement, speech issues, problems with vision and hearing, and pain – including chronic migraines.
Dana, 40, is confined to as wheelchair, unable to work and carry out everyday tasks, as she searches for a breakthrough.
The hospitality manager has told how the symptoms started out of the blue six months ago when she started to drop plates at work.
Dana is the manager of Stirling’s Cold Beer Company pub, located in Murray Place, and concerned colleagues there have launched an online fundraiser in a desperate bid to send her to a clinic in Arkansas for treatment.
The £75,000 fundraiser was set up by colleague and friend Nicola McGuinness and this week Nicola shared an emotional video from Dana, who lives with her family – husband Andrew, 41, and their three sons, Freddie, 17, Frankie, 14, and Finley aged 10 – in Falkirk.
Speaking from her hospital bed, where she had been for seven days, she told how the symptoms first arose suddenly around six months ago when she began to drop plates at work, before she later collapsed at the pub.
In the four-and-a-half-minute clip, Dana said: “Here goes again, night seven in hospital. I’m probably giving Andrew and the boys a bit of a break.
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“They [medical professionals] don’t know enough about POTS and they’re trying to do everything to stop the blackouts.”
Dana then detailed collapsing in the shower on the ward, adding: “I just wish life would go back to normal. Six months I have been off work and not driving. Our whole life has turned around. I can’t take my kids to school, I can’t cook a dinner, I can’t do housework.
“It has broken my husband, my kids, my friends.
“I just love to go on a night out, but I’m scared to go in to a restaurant for a meal because I take blackouts at the table. I’ve had food in my face. I’ve had a fractured eye socket, a broken wrist.”
She added: “All I want in life is for my family to be happy again – to be a proper mum and a proper wife and give them the happiness they all deserve.
“Unfortunately they’re not going to be able to fix this and I’m just scared that this is what life is.”
On the fundraising page, Nicola said: “The impact on her daily life is profound – she can no longer care for her children or perform basic tasks independently.
“Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for these conditions in her home country. A glimmer of hope lies across the Atlantic, at a specialised clinic in Arkansas, USA.
“This clinic offers promising treatments that could potentially restore Dana’s health and allow her to reclaim her life.
“To give Dana a chance at a normal life, we need your help. Every donation, no matter how small, will bring her one step closer to receiving the care she desperately needs. Please join us in supporting Dana’s journey to recovery.”
Nicola hopes to raise £75,000 towards the treatment. At the time of print, more than £20,000 has been raised – including one £10,000 donation.
To donate towards Dana’s treatment, click here.