Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has opened up about her life-threatening experience of Crohn’s disease. Addressing her party’s autumn conference in Brighton on Monday, the MP for St Albans revealed that 12 years ago she was “rushed to hospital” and was told she needed life-saving surgery. “A few weeks in, I was told that without major surgery I had just four days left to live.
My weight had dropped to around seven stone, my eyesight was failing,” shared the 42-year-old. Reflecting on the time she received care, Cooper said in her speech that she was also told that even if she recovered, she would “probably never work again” because the disease was “so aggressive”. But what is Crohn’s disease and what symptoms should we look out for? What is Crohn’s disease? According to Crohn’s & Colitis UK , Crohn’s disease is a lifelong condition that affects more than 200,000 people in the UK.
“Crohn’s can affect people of all ages and backgrounds, and it causes inflammation and ulcers along the digestive system,” explains Marianne Radcliffe, CEO at Crohn’s & Colitis UK. “That can happen anywhere in the gut, from your mouth to your bottom.” Crohn’s is one of the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease.
The other is ulcerative colitis. What causes it? “We don’t yet fully understand what causes Crohn’s, but it happens when the body’s immune system goes wrong,” explains Radcliffe. “Usually, the immune system protects the b.