Dame Esther Rantzen has spoken candidly about her daughter Emily’s battle with a debilitating illness that ‘slowly paralysed her’, leaving her unable to read or speak
Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter Emily was just 14 when her life was turned upside down by a chronic and often debilitating illness.
Struck down following a bout of glandular fever, Emily became bedbound, unable to read, write, or even speak as the condition took hold. She was diagnosed with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, which is a complex, multi-system disease that severely impacts a person’s quality of life – and in extreme cases, can be fatal.
Reflecting on her daughter’s diagnosis in 2011, Dame Esther recalled the heartbreak of watching Emily’s decline. “She never fully recovered,” she wrote for MailOnline. “We watched helplessly as she struggled with chronic fatigue which, like a sticky web, slowly paralysed her.
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“In the end she was imprisoned – bed-bound, lying in a darkened room, unable to read, write or even to speak.” She added: “At that point she went to hospital, where they pushed her by baby-steps, one word at a time, one more minute of light each day, until she progressed into a wheelchair, and then on to her feet.”
There is no known cause of ME, and it can affect anyone. According to the NHS, the four main symptoms of the condition include fatigue, sleep problems, problems with thinking, concentration and memory and symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activity.
There is no specific test available to diagnose the condition. Instead, a diagnosis is given based on symptoms and ruling out other causes, which can take years. There is currently no cure, but treatments can help ease and manage symptoms.
Discussing this, Esther added: “She continued to improve – slowly, year by year. But it was through management and willpower, not treatment and cure. As with many families battling an illness for which there is no known treatment, we were offered countless ‘miracle cures’.”
The broadcaster’s own health has been in the spotlight recently after she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Initially, Dame Esther found a lump under her armpit after feeling tired over the Christmas period in December 2022. Sadly, just weeks later, a biopsy confirmed she had stage four cancer.
In a new interview, Dame Esther’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox shared a heartbreaking health update. When asked about a new medication which was initially believed to help improve Dame Esther’s condition, Rebecca revealed that this was not the case. “I really wish that was true,” she said, adding: “I don’t think that’s the case anymore,” she told 5 News.
Speaking in February last year, Esther said the thought of her own death is always present in her mind as she discussed her opinions on legalising assisted dying. She told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “My own death is constantly in my mind. It would give me so much confidence if I could also know that however the illness progresses, whatever pain it causes, wherever it strikes me next, I will still have the choices of a pain free, dignified private death surrounded by the people I love.
“I’m not demanding that everybody in the world agrees with me, I’m just saying let’s debate all the issues now that we’ve got international evidence and we know the public attitude is in favour.”
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