Clare Adams, 45, from Widnes, Cheshire, has been given weeks to live after contracting influenza on a holiday to Marmaris, Turkey, in summer 2023. She was diagnosed with a rare terminal lung disease and is now fighting for a double lung transplant.
Flu led to months of breathing difficulties
Clare caught flu while abroad and never recovered. For months, she experienced severe breathing problems. Speaking to the ECHO, she said: "I went on holiday to Turkey and caught influenza. After coming back, my breathing was really bad. I couldn't breathe at all. I couldn't take two steps without being really breathless. I was getting really bad heart palpitations and just feeling poorly."
She spent a week in hospital being treated for influenza and was sent home. Her GP initially thought she had long COVID. Another GP suspected a problem with the right side of her heart, but tests and scans revealed nothing unusual, according to Cheshire Live.
Diagnosis of incurable condition
In November 2023, Clare was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare condition where blood pressure in the lung arteries is dangerously high. The NHS states it can damage the right side of the heart. Symptoms include breathlessness. While flu does not directly cause PAH, it can trigger serious lung complications.
Clare said: "It was more of a relief that I knew what was wrong with me. But the biggest shock was when the doctor told me that I couldn't have children. I don't have any children myself. That was the hardest thing to deal with."
Health deteriorated despite treatment
Over the next 18 months, Clare's condition worsened. By May 2025, she was diagnosed with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD), a rare and life-threatening cause of pulmonary hypertension. She was given a prognosis of only weeks or months to live.
Clare refused to accept the prognosis: "It was obviously a big shock to the system but I just refused point blank [to accept it]. I thought, I'm not letting you decide when I die." She consulted another specialist and was prescribed epoprostenol, a drug that expands blood vessels. She is now hoping for a double lung transplant.
Fighting for a transplant
Clare said: "We have had very slight improvements over the last 12 months and along with a massive one stone loss, I'm fighting my way to get a double lung transplant. I am in a wheelchair and on oxygen 24/7, having to wear a mask, as my body doesn't hold oxygen at all." She added: "I didn't think I was a strong person, but to get through this last year...it's been a steady fight of continuously just laughing through everything, working on my mindset and watching what I eat."
Inspiring children's book
Clare is using her experience to write a children's book titled My Auntie (Adventures with Auntie Cra Cra), available on Amazon. The book aims to raise awareness about disabilities. She co-wrote it with her nephew after he broke his kneecap. She explained: "He said, 'why don't we talk about the way that you look?' So that's where my auntie book comes from. It's really just a book to tell people that even though I look different, I can still do the same things as what a normal auntie can do."
She added: "My nieces and nephews have never once treated me any differently. They've just got on with everything that has been thrown our way. I think the children can teach the adults sometimes."
