'I thought I just had a bad back, then I was told one cough could have lost me the use of my left leg or bowel'

For years Emma Anderson was told the agony she had suffered in her back was just sciatica.

But the truth about what she was experiencing turned out to be terrifying.

The 45-year-old recalled the moment she finally found out about the spinal condition she'd been oblivious to for so long, and how serious it actually was.