Our lives were ON HOLD

Sitting vulnerable and weak, in a hospital gown, my heart raced as I watched the doctor approach with a piece of paper. I threw an anxious glance at my sister, Joanne, then 30, who’d insisted on bringing me to hospital the night before because I could hardly drag myself out of bed.

‘It just seemed unspeakably unfair’

‘You have Addison’s disease,’ the doctor said, explaining that the rare autoimmune condition meant my adrenal glands weren’t producing enough cortisol or aldosterone – hormones that regulate your blood pressure, sugar levels and your body’s reaction to stress. It was why my weight had plummeted from 10st to 6st in just six months, and why