Countryfile’s Charlotte Smith feared for years she only had a few years left to live after an incorrect diagnosis.
For nearly ten years, Charlotte Smith, a well-known face on BBC’s Countryfile, lived under the belief that she had only a few years left due to an incorrect diagnosis. In 2010, she was informed by doctors that she had Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a rare and typically fatal disease causing abnormal tissue growth in the lungs.
“When I heard I probably had this very rare, potentially serious disease with an unpronounceable name I went into shock,” Charlotte shared with The Sun.
“The doctor was honest and told me all the stats, including it being 10 years, on average, between diagnosis and needing a lung transplant or even death.
Charlotte Smith started presenting BBC1’s Countryfile in 1998
(Image: Publicity Picture)
“I left the consultation feeling like my world was collapsing. My kids were just five and three then and I was worried that I wouldn’t be around to see them grow up. When I told [my husband] Mike about LAM, he was so calm and reassuring.”
Charlotte’s health concerns began shortly after her brother’s wedding when she felt extremely ill and experienced what seemed like a hangover without having consumed alcohol. She later faced severe breathing problems, which she initially thought were due to a chest infection.
After consulting with her GP, she received the grim prognosis of living with LAM. For eight years, Charlotte lived with the dark cloud of the disease hanging over her until a twist of fate during emergency surgery for a collapsed lung led to a startling revelation.
Charlotte interviewed Dame Judi Dench for Countryfile
(Image: BBC Studios/Ellie Arkle)
Charlotte, who was initially diagnosed with LAM, a rare lung disease, recounted her surgical revelation. “They had to do an operation this time, and they discovered that I am very lucky. I do not have that disease,” she said.
She expressed relief over the misdiagnosis, stating that being informed you don’t have a fatal condition “is much better than being told you do”.
While LAM is not always deadly, it can severely impact quality of life, leaving many sufferers short of breath even on flat surfaces and some completely confined to their homes. Charlotte does suffer from a lung condition; however, its exact nature remains a mystery to her doctors.
She continued: “They don’t really know what’s wrong with my lungs, they have holes in them and they don’t really know why. So I have about 80% lung capacity a fit person would.”
Charlotte Smith revealed her horror health ordeal
(Image: BBC Studios/Pete Dadds)
But it’s not just her lungs that cause Charlotte concern. Since undergoing knee surgery, she finds climbing over stiles particularly challenging.
“Since I had my knee done I don’t like stiles,” she admitted. “I find them very difficult because my bionic knee, my replacement knee, doesn’t bend quite… so that’s very inelegant. Another presenter you might see doing the stiles but for me it’s too embarrassing so we cut that out.”
Charlotte has also faced personal struggles beyond her health. While working on a documentary about how rural dwellers cope with dementia, she shared her own family’s experience.
Charlotte Smith is one of the hosts of Countryfile
(Image: BBC Studios/Pete Dadds)
“My grandmother had dementia,” she revealed. “Dementia is horrific for sufferers and their families wherever they live but if you’re somewhere rural it’s a lot harder to get support.
“Dementia can be very difficult if the sufferer is a farmer because farms are full of hazards.
“But it was really heartening to see how many lovely people in rural communities make it their business to come out and help people. So the filming was sad and heart-warming in equal measure.”
Charlotte can be seen on Countryfile tonight on BBC1 at 7pm.