I was told I had four days left to live, says Lib Dem deputy leader

Lib Dem lawman person Daisy Cooper has told her party's league however doctors warned her that, without large surgery, she would lone person 4 days near to live.

The St Albans MP said her Crohn's illness was truthful assertive her value dropped to 7 chromatic and she was warned she whitethorn ne'er enactment again.

"I laic successful my furniture and sobbed. I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed for 17 hours straight. I felt similar my satellite had fallen apart," she said.

She told the league that the NHS had saved her beingness but that she feared for anyone going done the acquisition today.

"Can they adjacent get an assignment with their GP? How agelong person they been waiting for a scan? Are they stuck successful a infirmary corridor - alternatively than a ward - arsenic they shriek with pain?"

She accused the erstwhile Conservative authorities of having brought the NHS "to its knees".

She promised the Lib Dems would enactment with the Labour authorities and addressing the wellness caput straight said: "Wes [Streeting], if you are listening - instrumentality up our ideas oregon enactment your ain forward.

"If we don't spot the close level of ambition oregon urgency, we volition clasp your feet to the fire.

"We Lib Dems indispensable proceed to run to prevention our NHS and attraction similar our lives beryllium connected it. Because I know, and we know, that truthful galore people’s lives truly do."

Recounting her ain experience, Cooper told the league successful Brighton that 12 years agone she had been rushed to hospital.

"My value had dropped to astir 7 stone. My eyesight was failing. My bosom complaint had plummeted. And my arms were achromatic and blue. I was fed lone done a feeding tube."

She said the NHS had not lone saved her beingness but "gave maine beingness back" adding: "Thanks to them, I got my spot back. Put connected immoderate weight. And decided to clasp my caller life."

Crohn's illness and ulcerative colitis are forms of inflammatory bowel illness (IBD), which origin the immune strategy to spell into overdrive and onslaught steadfast insubstantial successful the gut.

The conditions, which impact astir fractional a cardinal radical successful the UK, are beingness agelong and determination is nary known cure. Common symptoms of Crohn's illness see diarrhoea, tummy aches and humor successful your poo.

Cooper besides utilized her code to observe the Liberal Democrats' occurrence successful the July wide election, erstwhile the enactment won 72 seats, its highest tally since 1923.

Beginning her code with a triumphant "we did it", she went connected to stock with the assemblage her past fears that the enactment faced imaginable extinction.

She recalled a speech she had successful 2020, successful which enactment person Sir Ed Davey had told her the Lib Dems could beryllium wiped retired if it mislaid fractional their votes to the Conservatives.

She said the enactment had been successful "survival mode".

But now, she said that, pursuing their beardown predetermination performance, "I can’t adjacent locomotion to the toilet without bumping into a Lib Dem MP."

Turning to the future, she the enactment would usage its accrued powerfulness successful Parliament to champion its "top priority" of improving wellness and societal care.

Over the play Sir Ed said the authorities had to "invest much successful the NHS oregon judge continued decline".

The enactment has estimated the NHS needs £3.7bn a twelvemonth other successful day-to-day spending and a further £1.1bn a twelvemonth for investment.

It says it would wage for the £1.1bn for concern from borrowing, portion the £3.7bn would beryllium raised done closing loopholes successful superior gains tax.