'Doctors warned I wouldn't reach 30, but I've defied the odds and ticked off my bucket list'
A woman living with a chronic illness, who was told she wouldn’t reach her 30th birthday, has defied the odds to tick some must-dos off her bucket list, including travelling Europe and running a marathon.
Charlotte Bones, 30, and HR advisor from London was born with cystic fibrosis - a condition which causes sticky mucus to build up in the lung and digestive system - alongside several other conditions such as osteoporosis and liver damage.
Doctors told her parents she’d be unlikely to survive past 30 but, on April 25 this year, she celebrated the milestone birthday alongside 120 of her friends and her family.
However, despite feeling grateful to have outlived her prognosis, Bones says she still can't fully relax when it comes to her health.
"Turning 30 has been quite daunting, but I’m doing better than ever," she says.
"I decided to give everything into planning the day, so I didn’t have to think about it.
"And I threw myself into enjoying it on the actual night - it was a great party."
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Having grown up believing she had a short life expectancy, Bones was advised to write her will at the age of 27.
But, she continued to celebrate each birthday, while also managing to achieve some of her life dreams, including raising £12k for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, by trekking up Ben Nevis at 29.
Earlier this year, another hope was realised when she celebrated her 30th birthday with a huge party.
"Everyone was just so happy for me," she says of the moment. "Even my friends and family weren’t sure if we’d see that day."
But while she’s delighted to have hit the milestone, Bones admits it makes her feel anxious about the future.
In July, her doctor told her they would need to start monitoring her liver more thoroughly, every six months via MRIs and blood tests.
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And in August, she needed to come straight home from a girls’ trip to Portugal, after coughing up blood.
"Anyone with a chronic condition knows you can’t ever really relax," she explains.
"Before, I’d just have an ultrasound. But now I have to be cautious of stomach swelling and jaundice.
"If it does get worse, they’d have to look at a liver transplant, which I most likely wouldn’t be able to have," she adds.
Though doctors believe Bones was suffering from a sinus irritation in Portugal, she says she was "a nervous wreck" until she got home.
But despite her health worries, she says she is determined to live life to the full.
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This month she will be running the Royal Parks half marathon and she has lots of city breaks planned around Europe for next year.
"I've had a half marathon on my bucket list for a while - so I’m excited to get that ticked off," she says.
Hitting her thirties has also helped encourage Bones to push herself out of her comfort zone, "saying 'yes' to things I wouldn’t have done before but also knowing the value of 'no'."
"I’ve been going on more spontaneous holidays - like a weekend away to Bournemouth," she adds. "The sea air is better for my lungs, too.
"I also want to go on some girls' trips next year - we’ve already got one planned for somewhere in Ireland."
Watch: Meet the 7-year-old champion who uses golf to battle cystic fibrosis
Bones' bucket list
1. Big 30th birthday party
2. Trek Ben Nevis
3. Learn to kayak
4. Travel more
5. Do a half marathon
6. Try and overcome fear of cats
7. See Shania Twain in concert
8. Head to New York during Fashion Week
9. Go on a cruise
10. See Niagra Falls
11. Walk the Camino De Santiago
12. Go skiing
13. Travel to Disneyland Paris (again)
Cystic fibrosis: the facts
The NHS describes cystic fibrosis as an inherited condition that causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. This causes lung infections and problems with digesting food.
According to the charity the Cystic Fibrosis Trust around 10,800 people in the UK have cystic fibrosis; that's one in every 2,500 babies born.
In the UK, most cases of cystic fibrosis are picked up at birth using a newborn screening heel prick test.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition. One person in 25 carries the faulty CF gene, usually without knowing; that's over two million people in the UK.
If two carriers have a baby, the child has a one-in-four chance of having cystic fibrosis.
Symptoms usually start in early childhood and vary from child to child, but the condition gets slowly worse over time, with the lungs and digestive system becoming increasingly damaged.
While there is no cure for cystic fibrosis, a range of treatments can help control the symptoms, prevent or reduce complications, and make the condition easier to live with, but sadly life expectancy is shortened.
Additional reporting SWNS
