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In Hungary, there has been screening for PKU since 1975<\/h2>\n
Piroska was born in 1980, but right after her birth, her parents were not aware that she had PKU. However, her family noticed that she would not accept breast milk, and that she was constantly hungry. The time it took to establish a diagnosis was longer than it takes today so after more than a month of uncertainty, Piroska and her parents were invited to the hospital to inform them that Piroska suffers from phenylketonuria. There, she immediately received the first dose of a special food preparation which she was fortunately willing to consume. Her parents were also informed of the rigorous rules of the PKU diet which have to be followed on lifelong basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs it happens, when I was very young I ate huge amounts of carrots, and in fact my first memory was that I ate so much carrots that most of my body was yellow including my palm, and my sole. That was when I realised that maybe I had to eat differently from other people!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nHer family was committed to follow the PKU lifestyle, which enabled Piroska to perform well at school, and come closer to the objectives she had set for herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have become an actress in line with the family tradition.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nPiroska lives in Budapest, Hungary. As an actress, she works on a large variety of assignments and is usually tied up all day. It is a daily challenge for her to match her PKU diet with her active lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a freelancer, and I work in many branches of my profession.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nPiroska is a \u201cfreelance\u201d artist meaning that she schedules her day to suit her assignments and the specific activities on that day. In a typical day, she may travel from dubbing studios to schools, and theatres. This lifestyle is very hard to bring in line with the PKU diet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have my tested places in town where I can pick whatever food suits my needs. I try to fit these places into my itinerary. Unfortunately, this does not always go as planned, and there have been times where I have been delayed in getting to my appointments. When this happened, I had to move on to the location of my next program, and I got stuck in traffic, and felt hungry. To be honest, being on this diet for 40 years makes you weary. So, sitting there I burst into tears, and admitted that it was very \u00a0difficult living the way I did.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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Wherever she goes, Piroska only spends the time required by the given activity<\/h3>\n
She does not have the option of taking her own food that she prepares at home, as she is often not able to store or heat up her food on location. For this reason, her PKU diet requires a lot of organisation and thinking ahead, and the only place she can really feel safe and quiet while eating is at home. She is grateful to the PKU community and to her family who not only offer emotional support when she is down, but also provide financial assistance to pay for low-carb food as it is more expensive than normal foods. Without these a PKU diet would be impossible.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n