“During the work on the house I would find myself tired and unable to do anything quicker than my dad. “I realised something was wrong then (1994/95). “Oliver was born the same year, in May 1995. Diane was taking medication for epilepsy. “We moved into the house, it wasn’t finished but it was liveable. “I started to notice more and more things going wrong with my health. What really bought it to a head is that I was trying to hammer a nail in, and on the third bang my arm just wouldn’t move. “That’s what drove me to go to hospital. I was diagnosed almost instantly with Myasthenia gravis. “It is an auto-immune disease where the body is attacking itself. They gave me steroids. “A week later I was taken into intensive care because of the breathing problems. “The doctor’s don’t know what causes Myasthenia gravis - there is no known cure for it.”
“I was operated upon. That was my worst time ever in hospital. “Eventually I was discharged. “I was off work due to the tiredness and weakness. “With this [my illness] you just feel totally done in. “My muscles in my face sometimes don’t work, I have no idea when I’m smiling or not. “I have a more passive expression than most.”
Stewart said he later had a cancer scare, and was convinced to have another operation. “I went back into Papworth Hospital and had the same operation. Very annoyingly all it was was scar tissue. “It wasn’t cancer, thankfully. “Myasthenia gravis is quite rare, every time I end up in Addenbrooke’s Hospital they use me as a demonstration. Stewart said one of his lungs only has 60 per cent capacity, adding “compared to my other breathing problems that’s not good.”
Stewart was unable to return to work after severe attack
Stewart also said effectively he only has one vocal chord as a result of complications with his operations. “I’ve been in intensive care five or six times. Generally, I was down there because they’re so concerned. “I went back to work and we went on holiday. I had a severe attack and ended up in intensive care in France. “I was flown back to Addenbrooke’s and was in intensive care there for a while. “Following my discharge from there I never went back to work again on advice from the doctors. “It’s not known what brings my Myasthenia gravis on.”
“I’ve had a blue (disabled) badge when driving for 18/19 years. “Sadly Diane died on June 25, 2010. “I was left in charge of the two boys. They were 18 and 15 at that time. “I was given a book on how to cope and deal with grief from a bridesmaid at Diane’s wedding. “In the book was also a website name for a forum for widows and widowers to share their feelings. “It was a very open forum and it was very good. “I went to an event in London, 30 of us shared experiences of grieving face to face.”