For seven months, Denise Tough’s life has revolved around a pain that she couldn’t predict, but also couldn’t ignore. “It started one evening after dinner in November [2025]. I felt a dull ache under my ribs on the right-hand side that gradually became a sharp, gripping pain. At first, she thought it was indigestion, so chewed some antacids and waited for it to pass. Instead of easing, the pain intensified, spreading into her back. “I felt sick and sweaty. By midnight, I was curled up on the bathroom floor, begging my husband to call 999,” she says. When paramedics arrived […]