'MY TUMMY ACHE WAS HEART FAILURE'

GOLD COAST MODEL BEC CRAVEN NEVER IMAGINED HER HOLIDAY WOULD LEAVE HER FIGHTING FOR LIFE

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It was meant to be the holiday of a lifetime for Bec Craven when she excitedly set off for Bali. But it almost cost her her life when a virus caused catastrophic heart failure.

“I was so confused as I’d always been healthy, eating well and exercising,” Bec, 31, tells New Idea. “There was no history of heart problems in my family, so to hear something was wrong with my heart was a huge shock.”

The fashion and beauty model spent three blissful weeks on the island before feeling unwell. She assumed her stomach ache was Bali belly until she began suffering from flu-like symptoms and broke out in a red rash.

Concerned it was measles, Bec went to a hospital. She was told it was an allergic reaction and given an antihistamine. “I didn’t get any better over the next few days,” says Bec. “As soon as I flew back home I went straight to the doctor, who said I had pneumonia.”

Bec was prescribed steroids and antibiotics over the following months, but her symptoms worsened. She began feeling breathless, lethargic and her stomach started to swell up.