‘Living Hell’: The 28-year-old’s battle with ‘suicide disease’

Every day for nearly three years, Emily Morton has felt nothing but pain.

At the beginning of 2022, the Australian woman had the whole world at her feet.

The 28-year-old had just tied the knot with the love of her life, Andy, and the pair were preparing to start their own family.

But then Morton noticed a strange nagging pain starting to come up in her teeth.

She visited a dentist, who could see nothing wrong. Within days, the pain became excruciating, spreading throughout the mouth and both sides of the face.

“Imagine a dentist drilling every tooth 24/7 and there’s nothing you can do to stop the pain,” Morton told news.com.au.

I started experiencing electric shocks on both sides of my face, triggered by anything touching my face.

“It would hurt when I smiled, talked and ate. All the normal stuff. There are no words to describe this level of pain.

“It’s like being struck by lightning, it makes you want to fall on the ground and scream.”

After dentists and doctors were unable to diagnose her strange condition, Morton underwent a series of brain scans and blood tests to try to get to the bottom of what she was experiencing.

She was eventually diagnosed with atypical trigeminal neuralgia, a variant of classic trigeminal neuralgia.

The condition affects the trigeminal nerve which carries signals from the face to the brain and can cause shocks of pain even after lightly touching an area of ​​the face.

While it usually only involves one side of the face, Morton was experiencing pain all over.

Doctors told her it’s “the most painful condition known to medicine” and there’s basically nothing they can do to help her.

The disorder has earned the nickname of being the “suicide disease” as those who suffer from it are in so much pain that they often “wish they were dead”.

Morton said there are still no real answers as to how and why he contracted it.

“We have spent thousands of dollars trying to find a cause and an effective treatment for the pain,” she revealed.

“We have traveled interstate and even overseas in an effort to provide me with some sort of quality of life.

“It feels like a race against time to find out why.

“The situation has taken everything from me. It takes over my entire existence.

“My whole life is on hold while I look for something to relieve me. I just take it day by day and keep hope.â€

Morton’s life has been turned upside down since her diagnosis, with her and her husband having to move back in with her mum as she is no longer able to work.

She has already sought treatments within Australia, with some costing her over A$15,000 (US$9,300) each.

Morton even went as far as Europe for alternative treatments, but to no avail.

However, there is hope. A new type of neurosurgery is being offered in Australia called MRI-guided focused ultrasound.

She will be placed in an MRI machine where an innovative technique delivers ultrasound waves precisely focused on a specific region of the brain called the thalamus to interrupt pain signals.

That has given her a 50/50 chance of finding relief.

Unfortunately, it is so new that it is not covered by Medicare and would cost upwards of $US40,000 (US$25,000) plus travel and rehab costs.

Her sister Rachel has since set up a GoFundMe for Morton in hopes of raising enough funds to undergo treatment.

So far, they have raised $20,000 (US$12,000).

“I was blown away and I thank everyone who donated, we are half way to our goal,” she said.

“I absolutely hope we can find a cure. In 2024, I believe there must be technology out there, somewhere, that can at least help.

“My plan is to dedicate my life to becoming a fierce advocate for people with invisible “mystery” illnesses.

“I want them to know they’re not alone, I want them to hope and believe in the science that’s emerging, and I want us to come together and fight for better health care.”

Morton hopes to find a cure in the future, but for now he’s trying to appreciate the little things and take life one day at a time.

“People who have this condition are honestly some of the bravest people to walk this earth,” she said.

“It is usually diagnosed after the age of 50. For those who are young, it is completely devastating.

“Even though it’s not a terminal illness, it takes your life.”