In a new book called Highs and Lows Radio Wales presenter Chris Needs reveals all about the moment he thought he was going to die following medication.
In November 2010 Chris attended a diabetes clinic check-up. He’d previously been prescribed medication derived from simulated lizard’s spit, as he referred to it. He was looking well, feeling good in himself and had been losing weight. Unfortunately, although the weight loss was noticeable, it wasn’t significant enough as far as the consultant was concerned and Chris was prescribed additional medication.
Within weeks Chris was in severe pain, as Gabe his partner says:
“What started out as a sore throat a few weeks later, which Chris initially attributed to a winter cold, was treated with a course of antibiotics, escalated into a series of ulcers. These spread from his gums and tongue to the lips, nasal passages, down his throat and, as later discovered, badly scarred his vocal cords. At the same time, the medication also continued to induce weight loss. Chris was in complete agony. He was unable to eat at all due to the pain he was suffering.”
Chris, who has now recovered, said:
“I genuinely thought that I was going to die. I became extremely ill with repeated sore throats, swollen lymph glands in my neck and dozens of ulcers in my mouth, nasal passages and throat. I couldn’t eat, talk or do most things without great effort. I was too ill to sleep alone at night and Gabe sat up and watched me as I sort of drifted in and out of slumber. In one period I was really trying to move on and tried to lift my spirits and decided that I should go to my caravan at Trecco Bay in Porthcawl. When I got there I fell on my knees and cried because someone had spray painted ‘Queers’ on the caravan. I worsened day by day and cried myself to sleep nearly every night. My God, how I began to hate living here in Wales.”
The book Highs and Lows concentrates on the three-year period chronicling Chris’ life his treatment, his fears, the support of his friends and the Garden, and his eventual improvement. At the same time it is also interspersed with tales and thoughts of his past. And while this isn’t the jovial and light-hearted book that Chris had planned, it is the honest struggle of his recovery, not only from the physical restraints but also from the deep depression his condition caused.
Chris Needs: Highs and Lows is available from www.ylolfa.com and book shops throughout Wales for £9.95.
