‘I was rudely challenged for using the priority seat on the bus - and they were very wrong'
20.03.2022 - 11:41
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Sally Hatton has a rare condition that leaves her in constant pain each day. It affects almost all aspects of her life, but her illness may not always be apparent.
She sometimes gets funny looks in the street for walking a certain way, but when she has sat in the priority seat on public transport, she’s been challenged by strangers.
Rare illnesses are more common than you might think. Diagnosed with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) at 18 months old, Sally is part of the figures that show one in 17 people in the UK will be affected by a rare disease at some point in their lives, according to a European Commission report.
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She has often felt shy when it comes to explaining her condition and struggled as a teenager at school in being ‘different’. The 30-year-old felt very alone up until three years ago when she found a community of others with the same illness that changed her life.
Sally is now sharing her story as part of pharmaceutical company Takeda UK’s campaign - I am number 17 - to raise awareness of rare conditions in the medical profession and also with the public, asking them to 'be kind'.
“Society can have very set ideas of how a ‘well’ person should look and be, and how a ‘sick’ or ‘disabled’ person should look and be, and when you don’t fit this expectation, you can just be treated as ‘weird’”, Sally, from Urmston, told the Manchester Evening News .
“As I’ve gotten older and my condition has got worse, I feel more entitled for help. But I try to make the best out of it and not feel too negative.
“It’s hard to have to say ‘actually there’s something wrong with me, I’m in pain, and I need help.’ My pain is mild but constant; there is never an