presenter Charlotte Smith has shared her private tragedy after a misdiagnosis left her fearing she had just “years to live”.
The star has had plenty to deal with in her personal life, after doctors mistakenly diagnosed her with a fatal lung condition in 2010.
Charlotte was told she had Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) – a condition characterised by cysts and abnormal growths in the lungs, kidneys and lymphatic system.
However, when she was rushed in for surgery, doctors discovered they were wrong.
She shared at the time: “When I heard I probably had this very rare, potentially serious disease with an unpronounceable name I went into shock. The doctor was honest and told me all the stats, including it being 10 years, on average, between diagnosis and needing a lung transplant or even death.”
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Charlotte Smith has had her fair share of personal tragedy (Image: BBC)
Though the decade of life expectancy was only the worst case scenario, Charlotte was left feeling “like my world was collapsing” – worrying that she wouldn’t get to see her children grow up.
Eight years later in 2018, she realised she doesn’t actually have the disease when doctors operated on her collapsed lung. She told The Sun: “They had to do an operation this time and they discovered that I am very lucky. I do not have that disease.
“I was misdiagnosed. Which actually I’m very relaxed about because to be told you don’t have something is much better than being told you do.
“They don’t really know what’s wrong with my lungs, they have holes in them and they don’t really know why. So I have about 80% lung capacity a fit person would.”
Charlotte’s grandmother had dementia – and she was keen to showcase patients’ struggles (Image: BBC)
It’s not the only personal struggle Charlotte’s had to face. When filming a documentary piece on how people living in the countryside deal with having dementia, she shared a private battle closer to home.
“My grandmother had dementia. Dementia is horrific for sufferers and their families wherever they live but if you’re somewhere rural it’s a lot harder to get support.
“Dementia can be very difficult if the sufferer is a farmer because farms are full of hazards. But it was really heartening to see how many lovely people in rural communities make it their business to come out and help people. So the filming was sad and heart-warming in equal measure,” she told the .