More little pick me ups

Little Pick Me U s!

My family are amazing

RELIEF!

After years of struggling with IBS, which resulted in many embarrassing situations, personal trainer Emma Spencer has finally found relief for it.

After being diagnosed with the condition as a teen, Emma struggled to go to the toilet and always felt extremely bloated.

‘It took a mental toll on me, too,’ she said. ‘I was so worried about passing gas at school and I felt so embarrassed all the time.’ As a personal trainer, Emma has always enjoyed a good, balanced diet, which she now enjoys with her family – husband Kevin, 42, and kids Leighton, 13, Mason, 11, Abigail, six, and Lillie, two.

There were no obvious causes, and she she tried everything to alleviate the problem. ‘I was taking laxatives for years to try and help, but I gave that up after I gave birth to Leighton,’ she went on to explain. ‘My GP also gave me a gel to use, but that ended up giving me the runs. Stress made my IBS worse, and the longer it went on, the more stressed I became. ‘It was a vicious cycle.’ Emma says it was not unusual Emma Spencer, 37, from Durham, was a personal trainer with a very personal problem… for her to g whole weeks between clearing her bowels.

‘I felt constantly anxious about embarrassing work and social situations, where I feared I’d unwittingly pass gas,’ she admitted.

‘It was taking a toll on my mental health and I knew I needed to sort this out.’

In 2018, Emma saw an article about Alforex, a probiotic capsule that promised to help with IBS.

‘About three weeks after taking it, things really started to change,’ she said.

‘My bowel movements were regular and I was starting to feel I was always anxious It’s changed my life

INTO THE

When Kelda Wood, 46, from Shropshire suffered a fatal injury, she refused to let it get her down…

I’ve always been big into my sport and fitness.

As a professional horse rider, I absolutely loved being outside.

But then one day in 2002, when I was 30, all that came tumbling down.

I was out in the stables, sorting out the haystacks, when suddenly, one fell from the top and landed on my head. Weighing over a tonne,

the haystack immediately crushed my body to the ground, shattering my left ankle as a result. My leg was severely damaged, and I knew that my life had changed forever. It was a long recovery and my ankle developed arthritis, so I wouldn’t be able to do all the sport I loved. I’d lost my identity. It was a tough journey and for the next nine years, I battled with my mental health, before training as an outdoor instructor and eventually climbing Kilimanjaro in 2010. That’s when I came up with the idea for my charity Climbing Out. I knew there were people ke me who were struggling o accept an injury, disability

I’m so proud of myself It’s been a long journey

or trauma and I wanted to help. So, I set up the five-day activity programme. It’s mostly for people aged 16-30, who have a disability, injury, illness or trauma that they need to overcome. We now have an over 30’s programme, too. For five days, me and a small team take them out into the wilderness and do lots of fun activities together. From climbing to canoeing, to even helping in the kitchen. Although it’s about overcoming obstacles, it’s also about showing them they’re not alone in their recovery. Since setting up the charity, I’ve been inspired by the young people I work with.

I could have let it get me down, but instead, I climbed Mount Aconcagua in South America in 2017. And last year, I became the first adaptive person to solo row around the Atlantic Ocean.

Rowing 3,000 miles alone for 76 days was tough and tiring. But I raised over £50,000 for Climbing Out. Every day, I

NT FRIGHT

WORDS AND PHOTOS: SWNS much better. ‘I also noticed that my skin was clearer and my hair felt softer.

I put it down to my body being detoxed as my gut cleared out.

‘I was so relieved to have found something that worked.’

In July 2018, Emma even went on to complete a 5k Pretty Muddy Run for Cancer Research.

‘It was such an amazing feeling being able to do it,’ she said.

‘Alforex has completely changed my life.

‘I’m more confident and much much happier!’ I’m so much happier

WORDS BY LAEA MARSHALL PHOTOS: SWNS, GETTY AND DEAN UZZELL d for a ferent young erson, sharing heir story on social media. Not only has it raised awareness of our amazing

harity, but it’s elped me to

nect with our ipants, too. , I would encourage them to be positive no matter what, but now I tell them that it’s OK not to be OK.

Recovery takes time. I may have a life-long injury, but I’m still me, and I can do whatever I want. And so can you. Visit: climbingout.org.uk It was tough, but worth it So thankful

The alarm saved our lives

Kirsty Payne, 50, from the Cotswolds, wants to warn us all of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning...

Just minutes from death P ulling up onto our drive, I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Everything looks fine,’ I said to my husband Andy, 56.

Andy and I had been away visiting his family, and while we were gone, there’d been a huge storm in our area.

We’d been worried about our house, but, arriving home one afternoon in October 2017, we soon realised everything was fine. ‘I’ll just go up for a quick shower,’ Andy said as we walked in.

‘OK, I’ll get the heating on,’ I replied. ‘It’s freezing in here!’ As Andy headed upstairs, I went to the kitchen to switch on the AGA.

While I waited for it to heat up, I grabbed our bags and took them upstairs.

‘Cup of tea?’ I called to Andy, who was now in the shower.

‘Lovely, thanks!’ he replied. Heading back down, I swung open the kitchen door.

But as soon as I did, I knew something was wrong.

In a split second, I suddenly felt extremely nauseous.

I was suddenly seeing black spots, my vision became blurry, and my legs had turned to jelly. It all happened in a matter of seconds, and I felt as if I was about to pass out.

Then, the carbon monoxide alarm went off.

I knew instantly what was happening – this was carbon monoxide poisoning!

We’d had the alarm fitted back in 2010, when a close friend of mine tragically lost her daughter Katie to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Katie had just returned from her honeymoon, but sadly lost her life in a matter of minutes from the gas. Her family had set up the Katie Haines Memorial Trust, to raise awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide in the home. And ever since then, Andy and I had been vigilant about our alarms. And now, t sounding in o We needed Before pass managed to s out into the li room, where my phone.

‘Andy!’ I sc ‘We need to g Thankfully, heard the ala from upstairs came running down in just his towel.

As I rang British Gas, Andy and I dashed outside and waited on the drive. An engineer arriv in minutes an I give them as gifts now

switched off the gas.

‘The level of carbon monoxide in your kitchen is extremely high,’ he said. ‘This would have killed you in minutes.’ Terrifying. It turns out there’d been a gas leak caused by a blockage in the flue of the AGA.

Apparently, it was a common problem with the appliances. The engineer fixed the leak and opened all the windows, and thankfully, Andy and I didn’t need any medical treatment.

After that, I was scared to go back in.

Over the next 48 hours, I suffered with a headache and was a bit shaky.

However, I think that was more down to the shock than anything else. and I could have died!

lant about I certainly

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iends and amily!

It’s such a simple hing, but it d save r life.

certainly d mine.