// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
I'd swell up once a week - now my life has changed
Jack Cope has had hereditary angioedema since birth
"It's changed my life. I can do everything I want to now. It's brilliant," says Jack Cope.
The 30-year-old joiner, from Bedford, has had hereditary angioedema (HAE), a condition which causes severe unpredictable swelling and painful attacks, since birth.
The swelling occurs all over his body, including in his throat, stomach and face. Even something as simple as using a hammer can cause his hand to swell.
But now, due to a trial at Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, he is trying a new treatment which he says has massively reduced his symptoms.
"I was having about an attack a week and I've gone from that to nothing for nearly a year now," he says.
People with HAE have a defect in the gene that controls a blood protein called C1 inhibitor.
The joiner says he tried all the available treatments for his condition, with none working and therefore prompting him to try a trial.
"The attacks were varied, so the insides of my stomach can swell up, I've had my lips, my hands, my feet."
He says he made several visits to A&E during attacks, to the point he was known on a first-name basis.