Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has revealed she was told she had four days to live without major surgery but the NHS saved her.
Speaking to the party’s conference in Brighton, Ms Cooper also told for the first time how the Lib Dems were on the brink of extinction in 2020.
She said the NHS gave her life back, which is why the party is determined to turn the health service around.
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Ms Cooper, who has the autoimmune disease Crohn’s, said she was rushed to hospital 12 years ago and was told without major surgery she had only four days to live.
She weighed just seven stone, her eyesight was failing, her heart rate had plummeted, her arms were black and blue and she was fed through a feeding tube, the MP said.
“But it wasn’t the prospect of major surgery that upset me – it was what they said next,” she told the conference.
“‘Even if you survive Daisy, even if you recover, you will probably never be able to work again. Your Crohn’s disease is so aggressive, at most you’ll be able to maybe do one day a week but nothing too stressful.
“‘You’ll likely need surgery every five years or so. Here’s an information pack about the benefits you might be entitled to.'”
Ms Cooper, 42, said she lay in her bed and sobbed for “17 hours straight” as she felt her world had “fallen apart” and that she would never be able to campaign again.
She added: “Hopefully though, you can see that the story ends well!
“As is the case with so many millions of people, the NHS didn’t just save my life, the people who make the NHS what it is, gave me my life back.”
She said she often wonders what is happening to people who are suffering the same symptoms now and questioned if they can even get a GP appointment, or if they have to wait a long time for a scan or are stuck in a hospital corridor.
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