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Long term health conditions >> Men 16-18 >> Tomas - Interview 09 >> His PE teacher seemed not to realise the seriousness of his asthma and would sometimes ask him to take part in physical activities even when he was no

Tomas has had asthma since he was six months old. Apart from asthma, Tomas has developed various allergies and he attends a specialised hospital clinic. He says that the work that Asthma UK does at schools has helped to improve the understanding of the condition among teachers and children.

Long term health conditions >> Women 16-18 >> Donna - Interview 25 >> Wasn't able to do her GCSE exams but she was graded according to her coursework. She then went on to have a kidney transplant and has had to delay fin

Donna was diagnosed age 13 with a kidney condition called Mesangiocapillary Glomerulonephritis type II. After diagnosis she was on medication and remained stable for three years. But her condition deteriorated and she needed a kidney transplant. Her mother was her donor. Her sudden deterioration affected her physically and also emotionally. She became depressed and felt rejected and isolated from her then 'group of friends'.

Long term health conditions >> Men 19-23 >> David - Interview 08 >> Early on he decided that as a young disabled person he would need all the qualifications he could get to have a better chance of getting a job.

David has had twenty-seven operations in twenty-three years - the main ones including knee and hip replacement, leg straightening and spinal fusion. This meant that he has missed a great deal of schooling but he has always been determined to continue with his education. He finished his GCSE's, did his A' levels and has recently finished his university degree.

Long term health conditions >> Women 16-18 >> Charlotte - Interview 10 >> Her epilepsy affected her memory and it was hard to do her Spanish A level course. Some of her teachers have been very supportive. She is now doing an

Charlotte was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 13. She sees her consultant every three months and feels well supported by her. Her main problems are the frequency, till recently, with which seizures have occurred and the fact that her memory has been affected by the frequent incidence of her 'absence' seizures. Until three months ago Charlotte was having seizures twice a month and sometimes, even as frequently as once a week.

Publication date: October 2007 Last updated: February 2012

Review date: February 2014

Various long-term health conditions can occur in young people. We interviewed 30 young people about their experiences of different chronic illnesses. Select from the key topics below, choose from the full list of topics on the right hand side of this page, or explore all the interviews by clicking on people's stories below.

Sophie says: “I've had a good weekend despite my lungs not feeling too good. My boyfriend's training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro so we have been hiking!”
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