On the morning of December 14 2022, Molly Gardner from Edge Hill, Lancashire, sought medical recommendation from her doctor.
Concerned about Molly's ache, proper beneath her breastbone, fearing it might be gallstones, the physician advised her to go straight to hospital.
Molly joked to the physician: "I'm not going to be missing my birthday."
Turning 51 the next week, her stint at hospital was meant to be not than two days, however she up spending her birthday on a ward.
Suffering from an adversarial response to painkiller, Moly recalled: "All of a sudden the room just started spinning.
"I used to be shouting for the physician. And then the very last thing I hear is, we have to get her right down to ICU [intensive care unit]."
Hooked up to a CPAP machine to enable oxygen to flow more freely to her lungs, for the next six days, Molly would sleep for up to 16 hours a day.
"I needed to have a meals tube via my nostril," Molly said. "Every time I checked out meals, I used to be being sick. I simply could not face any meals."
Bedridden and nauseous, Molly lost four stone during her two-month stay in hospital.
Medics finally got to the bottom of Molly's ill turn, which turned out to be acute pancreatitis.
Acute pancreatitis
The NHS explains: "Acute pancreatitis is a situation the place the pancreas turns into infected (swollen) over a brief time period.
"Some people with severe acute pancreatitis can go on to develop serious complications."
Symptoms of acute pancreatitis might embody:
While Molly had surgical procedure to have her gallbladder eliminated, she fell right into a detrimental headspace.
"I had that stage where everything was negative for me. I sort of couldn't get out of it," Molly shared.
Yet, the emotional assist of her sisters and good friend, Anabelle, was invaluable.
Now Molly is taking a motorbike journey to boost consciousness about acute pancreatitis on behalf of the charity Guts UK.
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