by
Katrina Welch
One day life was normal for Andrina Alleyne and in a flash it all changed. That day, she woke up and went about her usual business without the slightest inclination that one brief incident would occur and completely change her entire life.
She recounted the unfortunate experience which she endured 18 years ago saying, “While I was driving the axle broke on my car and it was basically bouncing up and down. I was on the highway so I tried to pull off to side away from an oncoming container truck. When I got out of the car, the left front wheel was broken. I felt fine and went back to work; but two days later, I couldn’t move at all.”
This was the beginning of what would become a lifelong condition. When she was taken to the doctor, she was examined for nerve damage and X-rays were done to scan for broken bones. Nothing was found and she was diagnosed with muscular damage and prescribed pain medication.
Thinking back to that initial experience in 2003 she said, “I had to go through therapy to help my body and learn to function again. I was using a walker and I couldn’t sit, feed myself nor go to the bathroom by myself.”
This severely affected her quality of life as it prevented her from being able to work or properly pursue a course of study.
“I was bedridden for about two or three years… during that time I was semi-unconscious from being heavily medicated and would lose track of time,” she explained. “I was just eating, taking medication and being knocked out; it was a cycle. At times I tried to get back to my normal Andrina self and try to go back to school and work.”
For the next seven years she sought to bring a semblance of order to her life despite the immense physical limitations. In addition to taking pain medications, she attended therapy sessions and continued to undergo a wide range of tests.
Then, she finally received a diagnosis for her condition.
She said, “It was only in 2010, after just going through the motions for so many years, that a doctor recommended I see a specialist who diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. It was a diagnosis of exclusion after so many tests came back negative and could not tell why I was in so much pain.”
With this condition she experiences chronic widespread pain which causes her body to become either extremely stiff and achy or tender, forcing her to remain in one position until her body can move again. She also experienced serious nerve and joint pain, irritable bowel syndrome, as well as brain fog.
“Based on the symptoms and the severity of the pain I would always feel tired from the constant pain and suffer with sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression,” she said.
The specialist who provided her diagnosis also recommended that she work part-time or become an entrepreneur since her body could not manage the rigours of full-time employment. “This condition just makes living hard; not having the capacity to work normally meant that it was next to impossible to take care of myself and I had to depend on family to do what they could to look after me,” explained the mother of one.
Over time she also recognised that when she ate certain foods, her level of pain and stiffness would increase and be unmanageable.“Sometimes if I went on doing things in my normal way and ate foods that negatively affected my body, it would take me weeks or sometimes months to recover,” she said. With a note of gratitude in her voice she said, “Luckily I am not that way now.
I had to go through a series of lifestyle changes to make it easier for me to cope but it is still very hard. I am a cultural entrepreneur and film practitioner. I’ve worked freelance on various productions in both film and theatre. I also do voice over narration for advertisements, public service announcements and other audio based media.”
Andrina, whose artiste name is Ellandré, has come to embrace life as an entrepreneur after having to resign from full-time jobs. “Even now, I am still accepting how my body is able to function and I have to make sure that I don’t take on jobs where I have to do a lot of typing or sit in front of the computer for too long. I usually use my phone for everything because I can check my emails and use Zoom; even if I get tired sitting, I stand for a bit or lie down when my body gets tired. Film and the cultural industries are better for me to manage because they are more fluid and I can move around,” she explained.
Apart from adjusting the way she works, Andrina had to make other lifestyle changes. Her days of land and weight training came to an end when the accident occurred, but thankfully the former national swimmer is still able to use that skill for exercise. “Swimming helps, but what I found has helped me throughout the time is yoga, and going for walks because I’m in a better capacity to do them,” she noted.
As for her diet, she is now gluten-free and vegetarian. “I had to cut wheat out of my diet and foods high in starch.
Meat also used to make me feel sick because it would take too long to digest,” she said. “So, now I only eat certain ground provisions, fruits, vegetables and occasionally, fish. I eat lots of peas for protein and my go-to snacks are popcorn and plantain chips. I’ve lost a lot of weight and it is a challenge having to follow a specific diet especially since those things are not cheap.”
Water is her drink of choice, and on occasion natural juices which she prepares for herself. Andrina also relies on therapies, herbal teas and herbs in her food to help with the management of her condition. She said, “The medications did not always prove to be beneficial so I spent a lot of time trying to find out what natural remedies worked better than the conventional medications.”
Reflecting on the drastic change of course which her life took in the last 18 years she said, “I am still working on trying to properly reintegrate into society, and finding my place so I can make money and survive. I have had to reorganise my life. Many people I interact with don’t understand what I am going through. I am not being lazy nor trying to make things difficult for them. I am just trying to cope with my own issue.”
The creative, who began her career through singing noted in closing, “I hope that by telling my story it will raise the awareness of unfamiliar medical conditions. Hopefully it will help further bridge the gap between health care needs and the social implications which people face as a result. I believe that intervention through social programmes is needed for more progress to be made especially now with COVID-19 as an added pressure.”
I had to go through a series of lifestyle changes to make it easier for me to cope, but it is still very hard.Film and the cultural industries are better for me to manage because they are more fluid and I can move around.
