Painful condition caused her to consider suicide
“Back in 1999, I got really sick. I spent 10 days in the hospital with extremely excruciating stomach pain before they figured out what was wrong with me. It’s a condition called porphyria. I’m missing an enzyme in my blood. There have been men who have gone in the crazy house over it because it affects their mind. For me, it was in the form of severe abdominal pain. I couldn’t eat. I got down to 87 pounds. I was suffering from insomnia. This had gone on for months. And that’s when I decided I was going to end my life. I just couldn’t live like that anymore. I was just like, I’m done.
“That night, I was crying in the living room, telling my husband at the time I was sorry for what I had to do. I told him that he had to take care of the boys and explain to them that it’s not their fault. When he went to work and the kids went to school the next morning, I was going to kill myself. But this is how I know there’s a God, and he won’t give you more than you can bear. Because that night, I actually fell asleep. And when I woke up, I was pain free.
“Although I’m still missing the enzyme, the condition has never come back. But that whole experience really gives me empathy for people who suffer with some kind of acute illness. What I went through, I wouldn’t wish on anybody.”
— Anne Stewart
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