For six long years, 27-year-old Anna Gray from Bath, England, has been unable to do something most people take for granted: urinate on her own. Diagnosed with the rare and little-understood Fowler's Syndrome, she must self-catheterize five times a day just to relieve her bladder. With no known cure and causes that remain a mystery, this debilitating condition continues to baffle researchers.
Fowler's syndrome occurs when the urethral sphincter, the muscle responsible for controlling the release of urine fails to relax, making it nearly impossible to pass urine normally. It typically affects young women. Although it might strike all of a sudden without any known cause as in the case of Gray, it could also occur after an operative procedure or following childbirth.
