Sharon Marshall is used to giving us the drama from the soaps, but she bravely revealed that she had been dealing with a case of hayfever that nearly left her dead
Soap insider Sharon Marshall admitted that she nearly died at the hands of her undiagnosed hayfever(Image: ITV)
Sharon Marshall has bravely told her story of how she nearly died at the hands of a hidden hayfever battle. She admitted that had she not been seen for another thirty minutes, she could have gone into cardiac arrest, which could have nearly killed her.
Soap insider Sharon, 54, is used to telling This Morning viewers all about the latest drama on Coronation Street, Emmerdale or EastEnders. But on Wednesday (March 25), she appeared on the show to tell her own story and how important it is recognise the symptoms.
She went on to say that it was thanks to the help of one of the show’s resident medical professors that she was able to get the help she needed. She is now feeling healthier than ever, and is now thankfully receiving treatment to keep her newfound hayfever in check.
Appearing on the sofa on Wednesday, Sharon told hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard that she had always suspected she had hayfever as spring got underway. She had managed to keep it under control using normal precautions, such as putting Vaseline in her nose in order to catch pollen, as well as taking anti-histamines and using dehumidifiers.
But one year, she noticed her symptoms were worse than ever, even stopping her from going outside and exercising. It later turned out that her hayfever symptoms were so severe that she began to suffer from asthma attacks.
One night, she revealed that she was woken up at around 4am but was unable to catch her breath. After waiting for five hours, Sharon was able to grab an appointment with her doctor and was helped to her GP’s door by a taximan before she collapsed and passed out.
“I came around in the back of an ambulance,” Sharon explained, “and I didn’t know what was happening. They said to me, ‘We’re taking you to hospital.’
“My first reaction was, ‘Are we going back [home]?’ and they said, ‘Well no, probably not,” she recalled. She added that she wanted to go home and feed her cats, only for the ambulance workers to tell her: “You’re going into cardiac arrest, we’re trying to take you to hospital to save your life; no you can’t feed your cat.”
Sharon would go on to spend a week in hospital for her symptoms, but even doctors were confused about what was causing her issues. After pinning the cause on adult onset asthma, Sharon would then go on to take asthma inhalers for years ― which ultimately failed to keep her safe.
Throughout the years, Sharon would present at her GPs demanding answers, which left doctors even more confused as she was on the highest strength possible to treat her supposed asthma. Things got so bad that she was even referred for lung cancer; but it wasn’t until she came into the This Morning studio and suffered another close call that hayfever was ruled as the cause of her symptoms.
Sharon was later diagnosed with seasonal allergic asthma and was luckily given a stronger treatment for her hayfever issues. She was eventually put on a programme of ‘desensitisation’, meaning she now exposes herself to a small amount of pollen in a tablet every to keep herself alive.
Now, healthier than ever, Sharon said she is sharing her story to raise awareness of the condition saying: “It’s miraculous, it’s really life-changing. […] I haven’t taken my asthma inhalers for three years; it means I’m not scared of summer anymore.”
She finished by admitting: “They told me in the back of the ambulance that if I had left it another half an hour, I would have definitely gone into cardiac arrest at home on my own. So if you are experiencing symptoms, get help.”
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
