FIGHTING BACK
I’m 28 & I’ve been in SIX comas – I nearly died last year before bouncing back AGAIN & now I’ve made a huge breakthrough
A WOMAN who has been in six comas and nearly died last year has bounced back AGAIN.
Ruth Spurr, 28, from Buckinghamshire, has finally made a huge breakthrough in her health after being diagnosed with a "life-limiting condition" when she was just a teenager.
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At the age of 14, Ruth started fainting regularly at school and was rushed to hospital on multiple occasions.
It was then that she found out she had a disorder called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
The diagnosis meant Ruth was more likely to collapse than someone who didn't suffer.
This was because her heart rate easily increased whenever she changed position.
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Doctors told her it was usually caused by other medical conditions - prompting various tests over the next six years.
In 2015, aged 20, Ruth was given a further diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which affects connective tissues and internal organs.
Since then, Ruth has spent eight years in and out of hospital, been in six comas, undergone numerous operations and had respiratory and cardiac arrests.
Writing in the she said: "Since my diagnosis, I have been in six comas and although they showed just how serious my condition was, when I woke up from them, I felt increasingly grateful to be alive, to be with my family.
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"[At first] it felt like it barely mattered whether I was here or not, and I ended up in a really dark place.
"It was only the following year, when I received my assistance and medical alert dog, Willow, that I finally saw some light.
"She gave me the confidence – and the reason – to leave my house, and get back out into the real world."
And after contracting sepsis in September last year, Ruth also caught Covid before getting sepsis again for a second time.
And after being in hospital for 277 days, she was discharged in April and has remained stable since.
Now, she has been swimming for the first time in 10 years, has been on holiday to Cornwall and celebrated a late Christmas with her loved ones.
Ruth has since been shortlisted for the National Diversity Awards after sharing her story with followers on social media.
She added: "I was stunned and completely overwhelmed. It showed I was making a difference by helping other people.
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"Having an impact on the world."
Ruth now relies on a wheelchair as she struggles to do everyday tasks - but says her ability to help others keeps her going.
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