'I was misdiagnosed as terminally ill with six months to live'

03 March 2024 , 12:16

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Paul Gill is looking forward to celebrating the news on his honeymoon with his wife Christine (Image: Helen Flanagan / SWNS)

A former rugby player who was wrongly told he was going to die from a terminal illness says he feels like he has "come off death row".

Paul Gill, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was left distraught after he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in June last year. But he was shocked to find out that his symptoms were actually caused by his prescribed statin pills. The terminal illness, which affects the nerves and brain, gradually stops patients from carrying out actions including the ability to walk, talk and eat. However, after half a year in therapy and life-prolonging treatment, Paul noticed his health had gotten better.

And on January 25, he learned that he actually had statin-induced myopathy - caused by his nightly 40mg cholesterol tablet - which he stopped taking after his MND diagnosis. The grandad-of-one could now make a full recovery.

He said: "I'm just in shock. It's a wonderful feeling, an incredible feeling. I feel like I've had a death sentence and I've been let off - like I've come off death row. A couple of my good pals that I played with at Clayton Rugby Club, unfortunately, they had MND - and I thought of Rob Burrow straight away.

"But the big key decision I made - which I didn't realise at the time was going to be absolutely massive - was I stopped taking my Statins when I got diagnosed. The consultant told me when I went back on January 25 that was probably the best decision I'd ever made. They were actually impacting my muscles. I'm still speechless, and it's just a miracle."

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Paul moved his wedding forward to his fiancée Christine Metcalfe, 55, when he was faced with the terrifying terminal diagnosis. And on February 17, they tied the knot in their home town before meeting up with hundreds of well-wishers at their reception, reports Wales Live.

He said: "It's just incredible really. I would have had a great time if I had MND, but to actually get the all clear is amazing. It's fantastic. We had about 200 guests. We've been together for 17 years, and we got engaged after 15 years. I thought we had another 15 years spare, but with the MND diagnosis we decided to move it forward. But it was really happy. We're going to Benidorm for our honeymoon. It's the icing on the cake."

Paul, who played 47 times for the Headingley club in the 1980s, began to feel unwell at the start of last year when he struggled to climb steps. And he chose to get checked out by doctors in February after a holiday to Lanzarote where he failed to walk around 300 yards along the promenade at Playa Blanca.

Paul Gill was wrongly diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (No credit)

Back home in Bradford, he underwent a series of examinations in hospital, where he was given MRI and CT scans as well as dozens of blood tests. But in just a couple of months, the former water billing and collection manager lost four stone in weight and was left wheelchair-bound with the mystery illness.

Following a test to measure his muscle's response to electronic pulses, he got the news that he had MND on June 18 at an appointment accompanied by his fiancee Christine Metcalfe, 55. Paul said of the diagnosis: "I was absolutely gobsmacked. It was easily the worst day of my life. We were both absolutely on the floor, basically."

"I can remember the day as the darkest day for us both. I don't think I've ever been as low in my life. Of course, I thought, 'Well, what happens now?' I thought 'It's just all downhill I'd imagine.'" Paul was immediately referred to an MND support team in Bradford who he said provided "magnificent" care to him over the next few months.

However, by October last year, he bizarrely began to witness subtle improvements in his mobility and strength. And these positive developments didn't line up with the normal rapid health decline of people who have MND.

Paul said: "I'd been losing literally half a stone a week. But I suddenly started putting some weight back on. I started feeling, 'Gosh, I feel a bit stronger, a bit more mobile,' and I could do more stuff. I was just thinking, 'I've slowed the process down,' if you know what I mean."

Paul said he went to his GP at the beginning of January this year who had asked point blank: "Where would you want to end it? At home or in a hospice?" But baffled Paul confided in him that he was actually feeling much better, and after speaking with his MND support team, he was invited to be retested. On January 25, his stunned consultant revealed the news that he didn't have the fatal disease after all.

Paul is now able to walk around 100m (110 yards) without assistance, and doctors have even said he may make a full recovery or get very close to full fitness. He said: "The consultant said with this Statin-induced myopathy, you may get back to 100 per cent, but what's against me is that I'm 65. If I get back to 80 per cent, I'd be over the moon. It's just so much easier to stomach."

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A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "We strive to deliver the best possible care and treatment to all our patients. We are pleased that Paul is doing well but if he had any concerns about his care, we would ask him to raise these with us."

Neil Shaw