Life-changing treatment on way for Wearside TikTok star who suffers seizures

Tik Tok star Evie Meg is days away from medical treatment which could change her life.

Thanks to a huge fundraising effort, the 23-year-old from Wearside is off to Poland in January for supportive oligonucleotide therapy (SOT) treatment.

She will receive a custom-made infusion which was generated by Evie’s blood which she provided to a clinic in Poland months ago.

The clinic in Gdansk came up with an infusion treatment which should halt DNA and stop the Bartonella virus which Evie has, from replicating.

Hopes high that it will help her seizures

Bartonella primarily lives inside the lining of the blood vessels.

After the first infusion, Evie must return to Poland for multiple rounds of an infusion called IVIG. (Intravenous Immunoglobulin). Evie told the Echo that it could finally provide her with help with the seizures and with the leg pains that she gets.

She thanked the amazing public for helping with a fundraising campaign which has already raised £14,000. She said the support was 'pretty mind blowing'.

'It has been emotional to know how many people pitched in'

That money has helped with the cost of the first infusion in January as well as important issues such as a custom-made wheelchair for Evie.

She said: "The community has been amazing. I have been emotional quite a lot because it is overwhelming to know how many people wanted to pitch in and help.

"People have been so kind to give up their time."

The incredible support included a fundraising day in December, raffles, and members of the public holding their own events ranging from sponsored pull-ups to Santa visits.

People can still support Evie's campaign by visiting the Go Fund Me page.

Online hate and hopes for the future

The Wearside social media influencer, who posts as @thistrippyhippie to 16 million followers, spoke on camera to the Sunderland Echo recently.

She told us about her life with Tourette's as well as PANS/PANDAS.

And she's just been diagnosed with auto immune basal ganglia encephalitis.

This means her brain is inflamed which causes all of her symptoms including psychiatric difficulties. She is also diagnosed with multiple infections in her body including Bartonella.

Watch Evie as she describes her life

She spoke about it all in a film with the Sunderland Echo which you can watch here.

In it, she talks openly about her life, Tourette's, seizures, online hate, and the future.

Evie, from Durham, has campaigned to raise awareness of her conditions.

Her online posts helped her to become the winner of the Best TikTok Influencer category at the National Social Media Awards.

She has around 599 million likes

Her posts have had 599 million likes. Her TikTok page describes her as an 'encephalitis warrior'.

Her social media posts include one where an attack felt as if lightning was coursing through her body, she said. Another severe tic episode left her struggling for breath. Evie's life has completely changed in the last decade.

She was a top gymnast in 2011 and 2012 when she became a British champion but injury ended her hopes of going further.

Paralysed for weeks

Worse was to follow and by the time Evie was 15, she began to suffer mental health issues while she was still at secondary school.

Her tics also started and in 2016, she had her first seizure. Within two years, they were so bad Evie became wheelchair bound.

She was paralysed for six weeks but fought back and used social media to tell her story.

She has also published a book called My Nonidentical Twin which also helps to raise awareness of her conditions.