Clare Adams, a 45-year-old woman from Widnes, has been told she has only weeks to live after contracting influenza during a holiday to Marmaris, Turkey, in the summer of 2023, which triggered rare and incurable lung conditions. Now reliant on a wheelchair and oxygen 24/7, she is fighting to qualify for a double lung transplant.
Holiday Illness That Never Went Away
Clare fell ill while visiting the Turkish Riviera resort of Marmaris. She caught flu and, upon returning to the UK, never fully recovered. For months, she experienced severe breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, and general malaise. She told the ECHO: "I couldn't take two steps without being really breathless. I was getting really bad heart palpitations and just feeling poorly."
She was hospitalised for a week and treated for influenza but sent home without a clear explanation. Her GP initially suspected long COVID. Another doctor thought she had a heart issue on the right side, but multiple tests and scans showed nothing abnormal.
Diagnosis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
In November 2023, Clare was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare and serious condition where high blood pressure affects the blood vessels supplying the lungs. According to the NHS, PAH can damage the right side of the heart and cause breathlessness. While flu does not directly cause PAH, it can trigger dangerous lung complications.
Reflecting on her diagnosis, Clare 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."
Deterioration and Second Diagnosis
Despite treatment, Clare's condition worsened over the following 18 months. She monitored her heart rate and oxygen levels constantly, finding them dangerously low. By May 2025, she was diagnosed with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD), a life-threatening condition linked to pulmonary hypertension. Doctors gave her a life expectancy of just weeks or months.
Clare refused to accept the prognosis: "I just refused point blank [to accept it]. I thought, I'm not letting you decide when I die." After consulting a specialist, she began a course of epoprostenol, a medication that widens blood vessels. While her time remains uncertain, she hopes a transplant will prolong her life.
She explained: "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."
Writing a Children's Book
Clare is channelling her experience into writing a children's book titled My Auntie. The book describes life with her condition and aims to raise awareness about disability. She co-wrote it with her nephew, who broke his kneecap playing rugby. Their first book was Auntie Cra Cra and Frankie Go to the Park.
Clare said: "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."
She added: "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 on Amazon.
