Leslie Ash, 59, opened up about her health struggles after she contracted a “deadly strain” of the MRSA superbug while in hospital for a broken rib back in 2004. The Quadrophenia actress developed the infection due to an abscess on her spinal column, which left her with a devastating spinal injury. Leslie was initially told she would “never walk again”, but she has managed to defy the odds and now only relies on a stick at certain times to assist with her movement. After a frightening prognosis from doctors, the star revealed she focused on turning negatives into positives during her recovery.
Speaking to OK! Magazine about how she dealt with negativity at the time, Leslie said: “By turning it into positives and focusing on what I can do, not what I can’t.
“People said I’d always walk hunched over with a stick because of the spinal damage, but I can walk without a stick now. I only take it with me when I’m going to a busy place.”
The former Holby City actress explained she strives to keep exercising to strengthen her legs.
She added: “I’ve retrained my body to learn how to balance again and I go to the gym four times a week to strengthen my legs.
“I also do Pilates. I enjoy it. It does something good for my brain, all those endorphins.
“Sometimes I sit and stare out of the window for an hour too, just to be at peace. It’s my meditation time.”
Leslie’s admission about her health struggles comes after she walked without a stick for the first time during an appearance on Loose Women in 2016.
The TV personality told panelists Coleen Nolan, 54, Gloria Hunniford, 79, Kerry Katona, 39, and Sherrie Hewson, 69 at the time: “That felt really good to have the confidence and just walk in here.
“It’s been about seven months that I’ve been confident enough to walk without the stick.”
She went on to say: “You get out what you put in. I’ve learnt over the last few years to do anything to help, yoga, pilates etc.
“I have to keep my muscles really strong.”
Leslie admitted: ”At first there’s a fear, unfortunately you have to learn how to walk again. You lose all your muscle tone in one week.
“You literally have to start all over again. They gave my anti-depressants as pain relief but it turned me into a vegetable, so for 10 years I sat on a sofa. I’ve got my spark back now.”
Leslie also explained she found it difficult to get work as an actress again following her battle with MRSA.
“I don’t know if it’s because of my age – I’m 56 now. Or I don’t know if it’s because I walk with a limp,” she divulged.
She added: “Because everything [my illness] is out there. The way it’s reported, it doesn’t give you a chance to answer back to it.
“I hope they see a very different Leslie Ash. Acting is part of me, I’ve been doing it since I was 15. I love it.”