Charlie Webster: “I came so close to dying – now I feel like I can take on anything”
She defied all odds after surviving a deadly battle with malaria, now TV presenter Charlie Webster reveals how she bounced back and why it’s made her stronger than ever
hen Charlie Webster set out to cover the Rio Olympics last W summer, she never imagined her dream job would turn into her worst nightmare. The former Sky Sports presenter was left fighting for her life after contracting a rare strain of malaria, which left her in a medically-induced coma for almost a week and caused her vital organs to shut down. But as she recovers from her horrific ordeal a year on, she’s determined to look on the bright side of life.
Charlie, 34, tells Closer, “I feel lucky to be alive, I’m doing really well. I’m making progress and I feel more positive than I have in a long time. When you’ve been so close to death, you don’t sweat the small stuff any more, you learn what’s important. I feel I have more inner peace, I’m confident in who I am and I’m a better version of myself.”
PULLING THROUGH
But, rewind a year, and Charlie and her family were told to prepare for the worst. A day after completing a six-week long 3,000-mile charity bike ride from London to Rio – and hours after watching the Olympic opening ceremony – Charlie began to experience severe bleeding from every part of her body, as well as vomiting and diarrhoea. Doctors initially thought she was suffering with dehydration, but within days of being rushed to hospital her kidneys failed and her lungs collapsed, and doctors told her she was dying.
She says, “There was a point where I absolutely knew I was going to die and I was ready to give up, but I knew I had to fight. I remember having a conversation with death in my mind where I knew I could choose to go or pull through, and I chose life. Even though I was in a coma I could hear my mum, and being able to listen to life on the outside made me realise I still had a life worth fighting for.”
And while she’s fortunate to be alive, her malaria battle has left her with a string of health complications and forced her to move back home with her mum in Leeds. Not only did she temporarily lose her sight, she also had to learn to walk again because she was so weak. She explains, “My kidneys are only working to 50 per cent of their full capacity and I have to drink a lot of water. I still suffer with chest pains from my collapsed lung, I have constant headaches, terrible vertigo and I have damage to my left hand. The doctors have explained this is a long-term recovery process, but eight months ago I couldn’t make a cup of tea, so I’ve come a long way.”
Yet her mental health recovery is somewhat slower. She still suffers with nightmares and just a mention of the word “Rio” can trigger flashbacks of her being trapped inside a coma. She says, “I’ll have an amazing week where I’m doing well, then all of a sudden I’ll have a few anxious moments where it’ll come flooding back. It hits me when I’m on my own. At first, I cried all the time because I couldn’t accept I’d come so close to death. Now I see a psychologist for my post-traumatic stress disorder, which has helped, and my flashbacks have reduced too.”
But perhaps most devastating of all for Charlie is the uncertainty she faces over whether she can have children, and she admits she longs to become a mum. She explains, “It’s a worry and doctors are still looking into whether my body can physically carry a child. I grew up with three younger brothers and I’ve worked with children, so having kids is really important to me. I refuse to think about the worst-case scenario – I’m going to make sure it happens somehow.”
ACCEPTING HER BODY
And while she scored legions of fans as a Sky Sports presenter, and even posed for the cover of lads’ mag FHM, it’s taken the brunette beauty a long time to accept her body again. She explains, “When I came out of hospital I struggled to look in the mirror. I went up to 14st with the swelling and my face had ballooned. At first, I wouldn’t touch my body or rub any cream on it, I just didn’t feel like me. I had bad scarring on my cheek and neck because of the tubes that were inside me – they looked like cigarette burns. But I’m proud of the scars now, they remind me I’m a
survivor. It’s taken me a while, but I’m starting to feel comfortable with myself again.”
Meanwhile Charlie – who amicably split with Downton Abbey actor Alan Leech in December 2015 after a year together – admits she’s open to dating again. She says, “I don’t have a partner at the moment, I’ve had to concentrate on myself before getting back out there. I’ve been on a couple of dates, but this experience has taught me that time is precious and I won’t waste it on someone who isn’t compatible.”
RETURNING TO RIO
And as her illness made the headlines back home, Charlie credits the “overwhelming support” with saving her life. She explains, “I had Brazilians praying by my bedside, which is unimaginable. Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford sent me an amazing card and Ben Shepherd has been a constant support.”
But despite her near brush with death, Charlie is determined to visit Rio once again. She says, “If someone asked me eight months ago, I would have trembled at the thought of going back, but I’m determined to change the memory of what Rio means to me. It’s daunting, but after all I’ve been through, I feel like I can take on anything.”