Doctors told Leslie Ash she could be confined to a wheelchair in her sixties.
Leslie Ash
The 61-year-old 'Men Behaving Badly' star feared she would not be able to walk again, due to damage caused after being infected with the bug staphylococcus aureus.
She told The Sun newspaper: "They said I’d be in a wheelchair by 60 because of my terrible hips and knees.
"I was only given a slight hope of recovery but because I wanted it enough I was able to achieve what I have today.
"I kept asking doctors, ‘What’s my goal? What can I aspire to?’ and they told me, ‘You’ll be able to walk with a stick but you’ll always be looking down at your feet’.
"That was my benchmark. I was determined to get past it, and I did.”
And Leslie has surpassed expectations as she is now able to walk without the aid of a stick.
She said: “You’re on your own really, and you have to be responsible for your own outcomes.
“If I sat down and did nothing I’d be in a wheelchair now, without a doubt. You need a lot of mental strength to keep fighting.”
And Leslie suffered further health issues, when she became addicted to anti-depressants.
She said: "They weren’t taking the pain away, they were just numbing my brain so I wouldn’t panic because I couldn’t move or walk and was pretty static.
“I had an addiction to antidepressants and after I realised they weren’t helping me I had to slowly lower my dosage. But with my GP’s help I managed to get off them.
“I didn’t like being hooked on them because I didn’t feel like I could make my own decisions.”
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