Katie Price’s mum Amy gives a health update after undergoing ‘life saving’ lung transplant: ‘I’ve had quite a few setbacks’
Katie Price’s mother Amy gave a health update on Sunday after undergoing a ‘life-saving’ lung transplant last year.
71-year-old Amy was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in 2017, a terminal lung disease with a life expectancy of three to five years.
She admitted that she has had “quite a few setbacks” during her recovery and that things are still “up and down.”
Amy told the Daily Star: ‘It’s a slow process and it took a while. I’ve had quite a few setbacks, but that’s to be expected, but I’m moving in the right direction.
‘The problem is that when you have a lung transplant it’s so easy to sit because you still get a little bit out of breath, but if I don’t move I can’t get any further.
‘It’s a slow process’: Katie Price’s mother Amy gave a health update on Sunday after undergoing ‘life-saving’ lung transplant last year
Opening: Amy, 71, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in 2017, a terminal lung disease with a life expectancy of three to five years (photo July 2023)
‘I’ve had a single lung transplant but it wouldn’t go through, so I have to exercise to get it to work.’
Earlier this year, Katie helped launch a powerful campaign for Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month, following her mother, Amy’s ‘devastating’ diagnosis.
The mother and daughter have now expressed their full support for the APF’s You Can’t See What’s Killing Me campaign.
She explained how the disease ‘robs people of breath and life’, while Katie stressed the importance of raising awareness as data shows it is on the rise.
The former glamor model, 45, explained: ‘My mum was great but having pulmonary fibrosis was devastating – for her and the whole family.
‘If you say cancer, everyone knows what it is, but with pulmonary fibrosis, no one has ever heard of it. That’s why I’m so passionate about more people knowing about this and why I’m supporting Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis and their campaign in September.”
Amy added: ‘I know what it’s like to live with pulmonary fibrosis – it’s a terrible disease that robs you of your breath and your life. We need to get people’s attention so that more people know what pulmonary fibrosis is.
‘Our GPs and nurses in consultation rooms need more training so that they can recognize the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis and not confuse it with asthma and other lung diseases. That is why I support the Campaign for Pulmonary Fibrosis.’
Amy further emphasized the importance of raising awareness about the lung disease following data showing it is currently on the rise.
New statistics released today by the charity Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis show that more than three quarters of people with pulmonary fibrosis (77%) say their GP did not tell them they may have pulmonary fibrosis before being referred to hospital, leading to patients are unaware that they are still alive. with a fatal lung disease.
Update: She admitted she’s had ‘quite a few setbacks’ during her recovery and things are still ‘up and down’
Amy said: ‘It’s a slow process and it’s taken a while. I’ve had quite a few setbacks, but that was to be expected, but I’m moving in the right direction’ (photo July 2023)
Struggle: Earlier this year, Katie helped launch a powerful Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month campaign following her mother’s ‘devastating’ diagnosis (pictured with Katie in 2019)
In September, Katie revealed her mother’s life had been put at risk by climate activists who blocked the road as she traveled to hospital for an organ transplant.
She explained that Amy then had only two weeks to live and “almost died” because you only have three hours to get to the hospital for a transplant.
As she was rushed to hospital, the road was blocked by Just Stop Oil, who had organized a protest on the M25.
Amy only had a few weeks to live until she found a lung donor.
In the Private Parts podcast she said: ‘My mother then had two weeks to live. She has found a donor. She waited five years for a lung.
‘It was the day all the oil protesters were on the M25 and you have three hours to get to the hospital or you can’t get the donor [organ].
‘So they had to get an ambulance. When they were driving on the highway, they didn’t know!’
However, Katie added that a heroic ambulance driver saved the day by cutting through to ensure she got to hospital on time.
She said: ‘They had to go onto the emergency lane and get an ambulance to get through because if you’re not there you lose it [the lung].’
Amy previously praised the medical staff who carried out her operation as ‘amazing’ and also paid tribute to the regular faces she saw at every hospital appointment as they meant Katie could feel ‘less worried’ about her when she could not be by her side to stand. .
She told The Sun: ‘The doctors and surgeons who carried out my transplant are amazing, but it’s the friendly faces you see at every appointment that mean a lot. Katie couldn’t be here 24/7, so knowing I had a family here made everyone worry less about me.”