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Royal Free Hospital patient Harriet Madeley brings her one woman show Outpatient to Finsbury Park next month.
Billed as an explosive, autobiographical comedy, Outpatient follows Olive, a “self-obsessed entertainment journalist who sets out to make her name interviewing dying people, only to discover she is also living on borrowed time”.
Diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 14, Harriet was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in 2018 with severe stomach pain at the age of 29.
A specialised scan known as an MRCP (Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography) which shows the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and pancreatic ducts, revealed Harriet had primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a chronic liver disease characterised by inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts. PSC is closely associated with inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis.
Common early symptoms can include tiredness and late symptoms can include itching and jaundice. At the moment there is no known cure or specific treatment for PSC and clinical trials are taking place to try and find treatments for the future. Currently the only treatment available is a liver transplant.
Harriet said: “The irony is that at the time I found out I had PSC I was actually interviewing people about mortality and then I discovered I had my own life limiting condition.
“I was told on no account to Google the condition but of course I looked and found out that on average people live for nine to 18 years after diagnosis. I was very frightened and had to grapple with how to adjust my lifestyle, with the knowledge that there really wasn’t a lot of information out there as to whether changing my diet or cutting out alcohol completely would actually make much of a difference.”
Harriet has settled for a everything in moderation approach and for the most part has come to terms with her condition.
She said: “At the moment I do get tired more than most people and I do get more infections due to my compromised immune system, but having lived with the condition for six years since diagnosis I feel quite hopeful that should it progress they will be able to treat it. Failing that I will go on to the liver transplant list.”
Harriet is now 36 and recently became a mother for the first time. She admits it took a while before she was ready to reflect on it all and create a character based on her own experiences.
She said: “I tried to break up with my girlfriend and my parents were so scared they didn’t want to talk about it so I bring those elements into the play, but actually it is kind of a love story and I am grateful for where we all are today. I could never have imagined how things would turn out.”
Harriet also wants to say thank you to the staff looking after her.
“Everyone I have come into contact with at the Royal Free Hospital has been absolutely amazing. I feel very lucky to be under the care of the hepatology team and to have them by my side. At the moment I just go for regular check ups every six months and it is very reassuring to know I’m in the best possible place.”
To say thank you and to raise awareness Harriet is offering anyone affiliated with the Royal Free London or anyone affected by liver disease a discount to Outpatient which is at the Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, from 20 May to 7 June. The promotional code is PSCAWARENESS (ignore the gift voucher code) and the link to book is here.
