![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newspress-collage-1svphckm8-1768330975186.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A BRAVE Scots mum with cystic fibrosis could need a double lung transplant after a Covid infection left her in hospital for five months.<\/p>\n
Ashley Grigor, 33, was told her lung function may never recover after it dropped to just 50 per cent of its normal capacity when she began struggling to breathe last year.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Scottish Sun newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Brave mum Ashley GrigorCredit: Iona Young<\/p>\n
She had to spend five months in hospital<\/p>\n
She contracted Covid in September 2025, causing her asthma to worsen and later caught pneumoniaCredit: Iona Young<\/p>\n
The mum-of-two, from Burntisland, Fife<\/a>, was rushed back to hospital<\/a> on New Year\u2019s Day after returning home for Christmas<\/a> \u2013 having been confined to a bed away from daughter Jane-Ashley, eight, and son Kye, 16, due to the severity of her condition. <\/p>\n Ashley, who was diagnosed with the illness<\/a> at 11 months old, previously managed it with medication, however has now been told there\u2019s a possibility she\u2019ll need the transplant if she fails to improve.<\/p>\n Ashley told how she \u201ccried and hid in the bathroom\u201d when a doctor told her about the possibility of undergoing the procedure. <\/p>\n She said: \u201cWhen my consultant told me I might need a double transplant, I didn\u2019t know what to think or say at first. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MAPPED<\/p>\n Mutant ‘super flu’ hotspots revealed as NHS trusts declare ‘critical incidents’<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t JABS UP<\/p>\n Triple-strength fat jab dose gets NHS green light – users shed ‘25% of body weight’<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI was thinking about all the \u2018what ifs\u2019; What if I don\u2019t have the life ahead of me now that I did? What if I\u2019m not here for my kids<\/a> growing up anymore? \u201cWhat if I don\u2019t make the transplant?\u201d <\/p>\n Cystic Fibrosis, also known as CF, is an inherited genetic condition that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive system, and other organs. <\/p>\n It can lead to breathing problems, frequent infections, and other serious health<\/a> complications. <\/p>\n Ashley also now suffers from asthma<\/a> and severe bronchiectasis, due to permanent scarring and damage caused by the disease. <\/p>\n She explained how she contracted Covid in September 2025, causing her asthma to worsen and later caught pneumonia. <\/p>\n Ashley was put on four courses of antibiotics<\/a> at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh<\/a>. <\/p>\n She has since lost about half of her lung capacity and has been told her lungs are struggling to regain their regular function. <\/p>\n It has left her \u201cbreathless\u201d after minimal activity and she said she can \u201cfeel a shift\u201d in the way her body feels. <\/p>\n She said: \u201cOver the last six months my asthma became much worse and I haven\u2019t responded to treatment the way I should.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to explain<\/a> but I can feel it in my lungs and I\u2019m not sure if this is my new normal and a transplant is going to be the way forward for me. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a case of wait and see. I\u2019m so used to bouncing back without a few days or a week but it\u2019s just not happening anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tWhat are the symptoms of cystic fibrosis?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n If you have cystic fibrosis, your body makes a thick sticky mucus that can affect your lungs and digestive system. This can cause lots of symptoms and make you more likely to get infections.<\/p>\n Symptoms affecting your lungs include:<\/p>\n Symptoms affecting your digestive system include:<\/p>\n Cystic fibrosis can affect other parts of your body and cause other symptoms, such as:<\/p>\n Cystic fibrosis is usually found shortly after birth as part of the NHS newborn screening programme.<\/p>\n But if the condition goes undiagnosed, symptoms may only become noticeable when a child is a teenager.<\/p>\n You should see a GP if:<\/strong><\/p>\n Help and support for those affected by cystic fibrosis is available through specialist charities like the Butterfly Trust and NHS services.\u00a0<\/p>\n Source: NHS UK<\/strong><\/p>\n Ashley added: \u201cA transplant comes with so much uncertainty and risk. It\u2019s not a straightforward process. <\/p>\n \u201cNow I just have to hope for the best, I\u2019m still getting tests done to figure out what exactly is happening but they are preparing for the worst because I\u2019ve lost over 50% of my lung function.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashley\u2019s health previously severely deteriorated five years ago when she spent nine months in hospital due to the condition and had to be fed through a tube. She was later treated with the drug \u201cKaftrio,\u201d put into use by the NHS<\/a> in Scotland<\/a> in 2020, which helps the lungs work more efficiently. <\/p>\n \u201cIt quietly takes pieces of your life \u2014 time, energy, spontaneity \u2014 things most people don\u2019t realise they have until they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ashley described its impact as \u201clife-changing,\u201d adding: \u201cI could breathe without hearing crackling in my chest and throat, I could walk hills and stairs and more without even thinking about my breathing, and I wasn\u2019t coughing at all. <\/p>\n \u201cI was very lucky to even have kids. I\u2019ve always struggled with day to day life, always been a bit more tired and took a lot of energy<\/a> to do normal things but when I started Kaftrio it was like a switch all my symptoms disappeared.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I feel I\u2019m back to where I was, if not worse.\u201d <\/p>\n If her condition doesn\u2019t improve in the next couple of weeks, Ashley could need a double lung transplant which would replace the Kaftrio as a treatment for her respiratory conditions.<\/p>\n Ashley said: \u201cCystic Fibrosis isn\u2019t just about coughing or taking tablets. It quietly takes pieces of your life \u2014 time, energy, spontaneity \u2014 things most people don\u2019t realise they have until they\u2019re gone.<\/p>\n \u201cYou learn to be strong because you have to, not because it\u2019s easy. New treatments have changed a lot, and I\u2019m grateful for them, but it is still a full-time, lifelong fight. <\/p>\n \u201cProgress doesn\u2019t erase the years it\u2019s already taken. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople talk about strength like it\u2019s staying positive or holding it together. But sometimes strength is lying in a hospital bed with a broken<\/a> heart, letting the tears come, and loving someone so much it physically hurts to say goodbye.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/JW_13_01_FLU_HOSPITAL_BEDS_COMP.jpg\"\/)
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/boxes-novo-nordisks-weight-loss-1024779799.jpg\"\/)
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n