12/02/2009 - Flower allergy florist wins award
A florist with a life-threatening allergy to flowers is blooming after scooping a Welsh business award.
Jan Wass, who has a shop in Wrexham, said 12 years into her career she started to get ill and was diagnosed with a flower allergy. Drastic action was needed and Mrs Wass shut the shop and came up with a new business idea.
She reopened the shop as Free Spirit selling celebration balloons, artificial flowers and gifts, and has just landed the title for the Most Creative Business in Wrexham.
Mrs Wass, who runs the shop with her husband, said: "The problems started four years ago and I was ill for 15 months before the diagnosis was confirmed - I had lips like Leslie Ash, they were very swollen and I had slits for eyes.
"I had to wear dark glasses all the time and I had like a scaling on my neck - but I didn't think for one minute it was caused by the flowers.
"It only happened at weekends but the doctor explained that it built up during the week and then it exploded. I was so poorly and the consultant said I was close to suffering an anaphylactic shock, which can be deadly."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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