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A Preston author has been approved for life-saving treatment after going public about the withdrawal of vital medication.
Crime novelist Christie J Newport was facing a life of suffering as the symptoms of her chronic illness – including severe swelling and unbearable pain – had returned with a vengeance.
After Blog Preston and the Lancashire Post covered Christie’s plight, she was approved for the previously-denied treatment.
Read more: Preston author’s plea for life-saving help after withdrawal of vital treatment
Christie shared the news on X, saying: “Thank you to @leponline & @blogpreston for running stories in support of our fight for my treatment – today, I’ve been approved for it! I’m eager to get writing more books set in Preston, to do events & festivals, to live…”
Speaking to Blog Preston, a delighted and relieved Christie said: “My life might never be perfect but it has a very good chance of being liveable again. I will be able to write my books and attend festivals and events. I am determined not to waste this chance.
“Life will always be a challenge health-wise for me, but during this time I have honestly considered giving up completely. I have been there before and this took me right back there. Being in constant agony with lethargy and mind fog for anyone is a huge cross to bear, but for an author whose identity is writing books – well I am sure you can imagine what that would have meant to me. I was losing myself as much as anything else.”
While the future is still uncertain, Christie says she once again has hope.
“It’s going to be a work in progress for a while, the infusions need to build back up in my system and nothing is certain,” she said.
“They might even have already left it too long, meaning I could have built more antibodies and have an infusion reaction or it might not work at all – both instances would void the treatment. But I have true hope now. With everything we have, we are hoping that it works! It’s been a trial getting here, but now we can see the future again.”
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Christie is keen to get back to her writing, and is planning to write more crime thrillers set in Preston.
“The standalone I am working on at the moment is an historical thriller set in 1952 and 1995. The 1952 parts are based in a fictional asylum loosely based on Whittingham Asylum, as I find that place fascinating and don’t want it to be a part of history that is forgotten.
“After that I will be writing The Preston Murders book 3, books one and two being The Raven’s Mark and The Ordinary Man.”
Sadly, Christie’s wife Amy has her own health challenges, having been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few years ago.
winning novel, The Raven’s Mark in November 2021
“Amy taught herself to paint while caring for me. Art saw her through some of our darkest times, including her own diagnosis, and it is seeing her through now too. She recently won a worldwide competition with over 4,000 entries, and I see her painting more award-winning pieces of incredible art.
“We want our lives to mean something. We want to follow our dreams and passions despite our challenges. We want to leave our mark on this world and be more than our illnesses.
“This treatment will allow me to reclaim that part of myself. I fought so very hard for it, through so much, it was never something I was going to give up fighting for.”
Christie has been on stage at the biggest crime writing festivals in the UK. She has won awards and had books in the bestseller lists on Amazon.
“Next I want to build on that until I hit the Sunday Times bestseller lists,” she said. “Because if these fights teach us anything, it is that nothing is impossible – that tenacity, determination, focus and dedication can take you anywhere you want to go. Always follow your dreams, never give up.”
Christie wants other people going through health challenges to have hope for the future.
“Your health is the only thing you have no control over. If you have your health you are already rich. Everything else you can work for, you can make happen. Your health is largely out of your hands, but you can fight for your right to be heard, you can fight for your right to the best treatment, you can fight to be able to live the life you want. And if you do that with people beside you, you are stronger and louder and you will get there.”
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This story was made possible by you, our readers, and a host of organisations in the city, through our Crowdfund Lancashire appeal, which unlocked support from the Lancashire Culture and Sport Fund provided by Lancashire County Council. You can see all our coverage and, if you know of an arts project or event in the city we should be covering, you can submit it for our event listings and/or send details to [email protected] for us to cover it as a story on the Blog.
