A County Durham TikTok star is set to travel to Poland next week following an outpouring of financial support to receive potentially life-changing treatment.
Evie-Meg Field, 23, from the outskirts of Durham City, will soon travel to a specialist clinic in Poland to receive treatment for a serious disorder - autoimmune basal ganglia encephalitis.
The social media star - known as @thistrippyhippie - has shared her life online since 2016.
Evie has opened up about her journey, including her experiences with seizures, tics and OCD to her now 16 million followers after in 2013 she began experiencing severe social anxiety and other symptoms.
Now, after a correct diagnosis and a fundraiser to gather the thousands of pounds required for the private care not available on the NHS, Evie will travel to Poland for a three-day stint of treatment which she says could be "life-changing".
"I was always quite a shy and quiet kid," she said.
"My social anxiety became quite sudden and it was extreme, it was very out of character. My seizures started in 2016, and in 2018 I started to experience paralysis and difficulties with my limbs.
"In 2019, I was diagnosed with FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) and I had that diagnosis for three years before I was given the correct diagnosis of PANDAs and PANs (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus.)
"There is just so much that has happened. We have had some pretty scary times over the years."
Evie's next stage of treatment will now take place on her upcoming trip through what is called Supportive Oligonucleotide (SOT) Therapy to target Bartonella.
A sample of Evie's blood was used and analysed in order to make a unique DNA sample which she will receive through an infusion. Then, after the Bartonella has been treated, Evie can begin rounds of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) antibody therapy in Poland from as early as June.
Evie said: "This could be pretty life-changing if it works. I am very nervous as I have never received an infusion before; I'm used to antibiotics.
"It does all feel quite scary and it is a big deal - but I am trying hard to see the bigger picture and think of the future.
"I think about getting my legs back properly, decreasing my seizures, and even going out with friends and not worrying about having a seizure whilst I'm out with them."
Evie and her family ended up finding out about the Polish clinic online, and decided to first fly there in 2023 for extensive testing.
"We heard about the treatment through Facebook groups," said Evie's mum, Sam Field.
"We were looking for IVIg therapy, and lots of people mentioned the Poland clinic which specialises in autoimmune conditions.
"So, we first travelled there last summer and went through a barrage of tests as we knew she has PANDAs but did not know what was causing that.
"Once we got to Poland they did a large amount of tests over three weeks, and they were able to specifically find out what was happening to Evie down to the strains of DNA itself."
Once the total cost of several rounds of treatment in Poland was priced up, mum Sam set up a GoFundMe fundraiser which has so far raised £15,000.
In Evie's local community, a church hall fundraiser gathered nearly £5,000 and close family friends knocked on doors around Christmas time as the campaign needs to raise a total of over £20,000.
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Evie and Sam say the support has been "amazing".
Sam said: "I realised that we needed help in making the treatment happen, so I began a fundraiser with the aim of doing it in two weeks and just went hell for leather into it.
"I put a notice on Facebook and it just went nuts. We had loads of local people come forward immediately which was just amazing. We just put the word out, and people helped."
To donate to Evie's fundraiser and find out more about her story, click here.
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