AN EBBW Vale woman is celebrating the fifth anniversary of a liver transplant she says saved her life and turned her into a “new person.”

Rachel Powell, of Beaufort, was diagnosed with PBC (Primary Biliary Cholangitis) when she was 26-years-old, after undergoing two years of testing.

The disease attacks the bile ducts inside the liver, which damages them, and can cause fatigue, itchy skin and pain or discomfort.

The 46-year-old, a primary school teacher at St Illtyd’s School in Llanhilleth, said that before the liver transplant her life was a ‘nightmare’.

“I went to work and I was exhausted all the time,” she said. “I was suffering with chronic fatigue. “Looking back, I don’t know how I did it really.

“I had to go through two years of tests because doctors couldn’t figure out what it was.

“I was constantly itchy and it was awful. They thought I was anaemic. One doctor even thought I had scabies because of my line of work.

“I think I was just determined to carry on as normal.”

Ms Powell went on the waiting list for a new transplant in 2011, and waited just six months before the operation in 2012.

She said that since then, she has had “a new lease of life”.

“I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for the transplant,” she added. “The liver is eventually worn down so much [due to the disease] that it fails. Now I feel great. I feel full of energy and like a new person.”

After her diagnosis, and during her battle with PBC, Ms Powell was supported by the PBC Foundation, which provides support and information to those affected by the disease.

She is now starting to fundraise for the foundation, starting off with an afternoon tea event in Glyn Ebbw Lodge, Ebbw Vale, on March 4, from 3pm.

She said: “I wanted to give something back to them and thought I’d start off with this event. I’m not sure what else I’ll be doing yet.”

For more information about the PBC Foundation, visit pbcfoundation.org.uk