I went from a party animal to being bed bound and unable to breathe at just 27

A WOMAN went from being a 27-year-old party animal to bedridden with unable to breathe.

Georgina Pantano was enjoying her wild 20s while living in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

6

Georgina Pantano while partying in her 20sCredit: PA Real Life
She has an incurable condition which leaves her bedbound due to breathing difficulties

6

She has an incurable condition which leaves her bedbound due to breathing difficultiesCredit: PA Real Life

But things started to rapidly go downhill. The now 36-year-old said: “By June 2012 I’d been feeling very breathless and getting bad chest pains for six months.

“I’d wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air. It was actually very scary.”

Gerogina took advantage of private healthcare in Poland, where her mum lived, to get a swift diagnosis.

But she was horrified to be told she had a rare and incurable condition that would mean she had to stay in the country for 10 months recovering.

Doctors in Warsaw diagnosed Georgina with diffuse systemic scleroderma, a condition which has no known cause.

It causes the skin and organs, including the lungs, to harden.

Georgina, a former beauty therapist, said her life “changed in a flash”.

“Before this happened, I was really sociable, I went out every weekend,” she said.

“I went to clubs, festivals and was living a really exciting life. I loved my job as a beauty therapist.

“I had to completely readjust. I used to be the life and soul of the party and now I can’t even walk to my car from the shops.

“I’m in agony and just talking leaves me exhausted.

“I’d swapped nights out for hospital stays… I’d spent more time in hospitals than I ever did in stylish nightspots.”

Georgina was told aggressive pulmonary fibrosis – when the lungs become damaged from scar tissue and are unable to absorb oxygen as efficiently – which was why she was struggling to breathe. 

Speaking out during Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month, Georgina said: “The doctors were so worried about my condition they told me to stay and have immediate treatment.

“It was really traumatic. I didn’t say goodbye to anyone and was forced to quit the job I loved.

“I understand Polish, but I don’t speak it very well, so I couldn’t even express myself in the way I wanted to during my treatments.”

Diffuse systemic scleroderma is considered an autoimmune condition, meaning the body is attacking itself. It causes the skin to produce too many skin cells.

Georgina at Download festival with her sister Alex before becoming unwell

6

Georgina at Download festival with her sister Alex before becoming unwellCredit: PA Real Life

The skin thickening can cause tightening and loss of movement, especially in the fingers, as well as the face and mouth.

Changes to the blood vessels, muscles and joints can also lead to symptoms of pain, inflammation, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhoea and weakness.

Georgina said: “I was given various treatments including cyclophosphamide, a chemotherapy drug used to suppress the immune system, to stop cells from growing for three weeks, which would prevent the fibrosis in my lungs from spreading.”

When Georgina finally returned to the UK in May 2013, where she was referred to Royal Free Hospital in London for ongoing care, she was a shadow of her former self.

Georgina was the life and soul of the party before she was diagnosed with scleroderma and pulmonary fibrosis in June 2012

6

Georgina was the life and soul of the party before she was diagnosed with scleroderma and pulmonary fibrosis in June 2012Credit: PA Real Life
Georgina said: “I now use a wheelchair, as I can’t walk far at all and I get so anxious about what people are going to say"

6

Georgina said: “I now use a wheelchair, as I can’t walk far at all and I get so anxious about what people are going to say”Credit: PA Real Life

“I’d swapped nights out for hospital stays,” she said.

“I’d spent more time in hospitals than I ever did in stylish nightspots.”

Sadly, her condition has become progressively worse, and she can no longer work, with her vibrant social life now a distant memory.

Georgina has faced discrimination as a result of having a hidden disability.

She said: “I get dirty looks all the time if I park in a disabled bay, or even use a disabled toilet.

“I now use a wheelchair, as I can’t walk far at all and I get so anxious about what people are going to say. 

“I just feel constantly judged and scrutinised, like people expect me to look sicker. Just because I don’t look sick doesn’t mean I’m a liar.”

Georgina lives with her mum and brother, and sadly lost her dad, Alfredo Pantano, 60, to Covid in October, before catching it herself two weeks later.

Georgina wants to continue raising awareness of her condition, which she says made her dad proud.

She said: “While these kind of conditions are life changing, they haven’t stopped me from living life as fully as possible and I want others in my position to do the same.”

Georgina says she has swapped nights out for hospital stays

6

Georgina says she has swapped nights out for hospital staysCredit: PA Real Life
Woman labeled ‘the biggest catfish on Tiktok’ by trolls reveals she’s got fillers, Botox and skin treatment to look more naturally like her glam photos

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?

Leave a Comment