Clare began experiencing severe flu complications in summer 2023 following her Turkey holiday to Marmaris
A woman from Widnes who became ill after a holiday in Turkey says she does not know how long she has left to live.
Clare Adams, 45, began experiencing health problems in summer 2023 after returning from Marmaris, where she had contracted flu.
She later developed persistent breathing difficulties, and doctors were initially unable to determine the cause. Speaking to the ECHO, Clare said: “I went on holiday to Turkey and caught influenza. After coming back, my breathing was really bad. I couldn’t breathe at all. I couldn’t take two steps without being really breathless. I was getting really bad heart palpitations and just feeling poorly.
“I ended up in hospital for a week, where they treated me then for influenza and sent me home. Then I went to the doctors afterwards, who thought I had a long covid.”
A subsequent doctor suggested Clare might have a problem with the right side of her heart, though numerous tests and scans failed to reveal any abnormalities.
Clare was eventually diagnosed with an incurable condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension in November 2023. According to the NHS, this disease involves high blood pressure in the blood vessels supplying the lungs. It’s a serious and uncommon condition that can cause damage to the right side of the heart. Symptoms can include breathlessness.
Influenza doesn’t directly cause pulmonary arterial hypertension, but it can spark serious complications in the lungs. Reflecting on her reaction to the diagnosis, Clare, who has a partner called Chris, said: “It was more of a relief that I knew what was wrong with me. But the biggest shock was when the doctor told me that I couldn’t have children. I don’t have any children myself. That was the hardest thing to deal with.”
Yet, despite receiving treatment, Clare’s condition deteriorated over the following year and a half. She explained: “My breathing was getting worse. I was checking my heart rate and my oxygen levels all the time, they were really low.”
By May 2025, Clare received a diagnosis of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD). PVOD is a rare, life-threatening form of pulmonary hypertension.
Doctors gave Clare a prognosis of just a few weeks or months at most, but although devastated, she remained determined to defy the odds. She said: “It was obviously a big shock to the system but I just refused point blank [to accept it]. I thought, I’m not letting you decide when I die.”
Following a consultation with another specialist, Clare began treatment with epoprostenol, a medication that widens blood vessels. While uncertain about her remaining time, she’s hopeful of receiving a transplant soon to extend her life further.
Clare said: “We have had very slight improvements over the last 12 months and along with a massive one stone loss, I’m fighting my way to get a double lung transplant.
“I am in a wheelchair and on oxygen 24/7, having to wear a mask, as my body doesn’t hold oxygen at all. I didn’t think I was a strong person, but to get through this last year…I wouldn’t say it’s been like a massive fight, but it’s been a steady fight of continuously just laughing through everything, working on my mindset and watching what I eat.”
Clare is now channelling her experiences into writing a children’s book titled My Auntie. The publication explores what living with her condition entails, and she hopes it will increase understanding about life with a disability.
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Clare said: “One of my nephews broke his kneecap playing rugby. To keep him occupied, because he couldn’t go to school, I said to him, ‘come on, we’ll write a book together about little things that we used to do.’ So the first book we wrote was called Auntie Cra Cra and Frankie Go to the Park.
“And then he said, ‘why don’t we talk about the way that you look?’ So that’s where my auntie book comes from. It’s really just a book to tell people that even though I look different, I can still do the same things as what a normal auntie can do.
“It hits children really hard when people are sick. My nieces and nephews have never once treated me any differently. They’ve just got on with everything that has been thrown our way. I think the children can teach the adults sometimes.”
My Auntie (Adventures with Auntie Cra Cra) is available to buy on Amazon.
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