TV and radio presentor Kirsty Young recently spoke out about her battle with Fibromyalgia, saying having the illness left her questioning her own identity. The seasoned host presided over almost 500 episodes of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs between 2006 and 2018, when she stepped down to receive treatment for fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Young stated that she is “so much better” in an interview with Lauren Laverne, who took over her presenting duties, for a special edition of the program on Christmas Day. She also explained how she spent a year visiting different doctors to figure out the nature of her condition before finding a “brilliant” professor of rheumatology who was able to make a diagnosis.
The NHS describes fibromyalgia, also known as fibromyalgia
syndrome (FMS), as a chronic long-term illness that causes pain throughout the
body. A chronic condition that causes joint pain, swelling, and stiffness is
referred to as rheumatoid arthritis. The professor also advised Young that if
she wanted to recover from her condition, she needed to “take her
condition seriously,” lessen her stress levels, and get medical attention.
As she recalled, “It was said with extreme kindness, but it was just a
moment of absolute reality and clarity, and I remember I pulled my car over and
just had a good old — to use a good Scottish word — a good old greet [cry], and
I thought, ‘Right, well, them’s the facts and you’re really going to have to
think about this.'”. “I’m very aware, in talking about this, that
people sit opposite doctors and receive diagnoses that are much more severe
than the one I received, but it’s a very painful thing, and I was in pain, and
dealing with a chronic long-term pain condition is an absolute pain, both
literally and figuratively. It wears you down, causing you to lose your
personality, sense of humor, and sense of self. There are numerous factors
involved. That is awful. Therefore, if I wanted to improve, I had to take it
seriously. So I did. “. Young claimed that leaving a job that she
“absolutely loved” and had originally intended to continue doing
until she was forced to leave made her feel “very shaky.”. She said,
“I did feel like, if I’m not that, what am I for? What is a Kirsty for?
That was absurd, of course, as the old adage goes, ‘The cracks are where the
light gets in,’ and all kinds of other good things happened. “In that
instance, you sort of lose yourself. There are many things going on, and when
you suffer from chronic pain, you essentially lose yourself. “.
Young was able to make a comeback to host this year’s BBC
coverage of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee celebrations in
February as well as the final moments of the monarch’s funeral at St. George’s
Chapel in Windsor. During the broadcast, a visibly moved Young said, “The
Queen’s funeral has certainly exemplified her reign.”. She brought us
together for one last act of solidarity. fostering a sense of reverence,
ceremony, and significance throughout the UK and the wider world. “.
“I did really have a bit of a moment,” Young admitted to Laverne. It
was painful. “. For the first time since 2018 Kirsty Young was back at the
BBC to cover the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations in February (PA Media).
The Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations in February were covered by Kirsty
Young, who hadn’t worked for the BBC since 2018.
According to The Independent. On the show’s 80th
anniversary, she reflected on the appeal of Desert Island Discs and said,
“I once described it as [having] a sort of hammock-like quality, just to
fit itself around the person who is there. Considering this, whether it be a
Premier League football player or an astrophysicist, their music, the length of
time you spend speaking with them, as well as the entrance and exit routes to
the museum, are all sort of beautifully soft and comfortable. Therefore, when people
enter the studio, they are sort of surrounded by their own furnishings and
music, providing comfort from familiarity. What they select also gives each
program a distinctive flavor. “. On Christmas Day at 11:15 am, BBC Radio 4
and BBC Sounds will broadcast the entirety of Kirsty Young’s Desert Island
Discs interview.