Helen Bailey and her husband John, known as JS, were on holiday in Barbados in 2011, when John (left with Helen, and inset) was swept out to sea by strong currents. He drowned, and Helen was left behind with her grief. Three months later, to coincide with JS's 66th birthday, Helen began to write a blog called Planet Grief. As the words came out, she found that the poignant humour and heart-wrenching memories of her journal were a lifeline to her, and a comfort to many others.

Anna Curtain, 30, (left and with her son Jaden, right) from Alfreton, Derbyshire, says she doesn't want the £9,500 taxpayer-funded operation because of the risks involved and would prefer a free gym membership. The mother-of-one, who has never worked because she is too self-conscious about her size, asked her doctor if she could be referred to a diet club or exercise classes claiming it would change her life. But the GP refused, despite giving her size 16 friend a full membership. She is now calling on the NHS to introduce free personal trainers and reckons it could save the government millions.

Claire Henderson's daughter Brooke spent five days in hospital with cold sores after someone carrying the herpes virus kissed her on the lips. The Doncaster-based mother wants to warn other parents that the condition can be fatal for infants under three months old.

Charley Wood, from Timperley, Greater Manchester, lost her mother, Lorraine (pictured right with her daughter) to ovarian cancer in 2006. Last year, test revealed Miss Wood had inherited the BCRA1 gene, which meant she had an 85 per cent chance of developing breast cancer. She decided to have a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, undergoing the process in July. During her journey, Miss Wood decided to photograph herself and write a frank blog about recovering from the operation, which includes how she was unable to get her new breasts wet and had to wear cling film (she is pictured, top and bottom centre, showing drains attached after the surgery). Now, she is setting up a business making bags to hold the drains needed after the operation (pictured left). She also wants to encourage others with the gene to have preventative surgery. She said: 'Being told you have the BRCA1 gene is terrifying, but it doesn't have to be the end of the world. I prefer my boobs now, they're pert and symmetrical - they're amazing.'

Twelve weeks ago, Chloe Dunstan (bottom left) gave birth to triplets after being forced to make a heart-wrenching decision: give birth early and risk her babies' lives or continue her pregnancy and lose her baby girl. At just 28 weeks the Perth mother welcomed Henry, Rufus and Pearl in to the world who, despite their early start to life, defied the odds to make it home before their due date September 22. Pearl (with her brothers, right) was barely the size of her mother's hand (left) at birth but has rapidly gained weight and his already competing with her much bigger brothers during feeding time.

Kingscliffe mother Jane Prichard has made hospital history, giving birth to her second son via maternal-assisted caesarean section. With the help of her obstetrician, Mrs Prichard slowly pulled her son out of her surgical wound before pulling him on to her chest (right). Baby Tex was born on Wednesday at John Flynn Private Hospital on the Gold Coast, in what was a very different delivery to normal caesarean births.

Emma Lynam (pictured), 21, cannot read or write as a result of her compounding disabilities including Down syndrome, autism, hearing loss and a cleft palate. But Emma's learning difficulties have proved to be an advantage in her career as a 'master shredder' (bottom right) of classified documents in Townsville in northern Queensland. Emma now has four clients who see her as the perfect shredder because she cannot read classified documents.

The man (pictured) - who is being treated by spinal injury experts at the University of California - has his thoughts intercepted in a cap on his head and sent wirelessly to stimulate his leg muscles. He lost the power of both legs after his spinal cord was completely severed in a motorcycle accident five years ago. He had months of training to re-learn to walk (left and top right), including physio-therapy to strengthen his muscles, and brain training, which involved playing a video game while wearing the cap (bottom right) and using his thoughts to control the movements of a character on screen. In a world first, the 26-year-old's brain waves have now successfully been harnessed to allow him to move his own legs.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Huynh Van Dat, 51, from Saigon, Vietnam, began suffering nosebleeds in 2004 up to four times a day, and his eyes were constantly watering. Doctors said he had a deviated nasal septum and performed surgery, which made no difference. He later had further surgery after the bridge of his nose collapsed - but this also failed to help. Slowly, it emerged that a mystery disease was eating away at his face - and over time, it claimed his eyes, nose, cheeks, and the roof of his mouth. His family were too poor to take him to hospital, his wife said, so now he lies in a makeshift 'tent' made of sheets, in agonising pain. He is unable to see or eat, and can barely talk. But after seeing his case in the local press, leading doctors in the country have now agreed to take on his case.

Zoey Wright, from Penryn in Cornwall, battled the condition Ulcerative Colitis for two years. In November 2014, the 22-year-old made the life-changing decision to have ileostomy surgery. Now 10 months on from the procedure, she is in training for her first bodybuilding show. Zoey was told by medics that she needed to have ileostomy surgery - a procedure in which some of or all of the large bowel is removed, and the end of the small bowel is pulled to the outside of the abdomen, forming a stoma. However, after deciding to heal her body herself, Zoey shunned medication and took up bodybuilding. Her health recuperated enough for her to escape the proposed surgery.

Support worker Amanda Jessup, from Folkestone, Kent, discovered she was 35 weeks pregnant after going to A&E; with stomach cramps. The 23-year-old gave birth to a healthy baby called Terrance. She thought nothing of gaining two stone in four months, experiencing mood swings, back pain and food cravings. Boyfriend Ben Funnell (pictured together left), 24, also a support worker, rushed her into hospital after she woke up suffering from painful cramps. Amanda (pictured jright while seven months pregnant) did not realise she was expecting and drank alcohol during the pregnancy.

The chef has travelled the world compiling a list of 14 'hero' ingredients, including simple products such as fish and eggs, which he says should take pride of place in everyone's kitchens. In a new TV series Jamie's Super Foods, the father of four unveils tips that can help towards a longer life, such as limiting meat to two portions a week and consuming the majority of your calories in the first half of the day.

Model and Big Brother star Sallie Axl today spoke of her horror at being sent home from hospital with her dead baby in a plastic bag 'like a takeaway'. The 27-year-old, famous for her tattoos and glamour modelling, took to her Facebook page to vent her anger at the treatment she received after miscarrying earlier this year. Seven weeks after the devastating event she claims she was given her child in a box and a plastic bag. Ms Axl also accused staff at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester of treating her with no compassion and claims she nearly died from an infection she contracted after the miscarriage. She wrote on her profile: 'On the 17th of July I received my dead baby at hospital in a box and a plastic bag ...!! With that another bag of medicines and sent on my way home to grieve. My dead baby was treated no more than someone handing me over a takeaway. This is the first time I have been able to talk about this as my ordeal was disgusting.'

Mandy Jarvis, 47, of Southampton, had ballooned to 24 stone after having six children (pictured left). After having chest pains, she was told she needed to slim down. She embarked on a diet and exercise plan and went from 24 stone to 11 stone (pictured right). She lost 11 dress sizes, shrinking from size 32 to size 10, completely changing her outward appearance. But her transformation has left her with a significant apron of skin and bingo wings (pictured top and bottom centre) which leave her in constant discomfort. She has applied for an NHS tummy tuck with the support of her doctor but has been turned down, leaving her devastated. Now, she regrets ever losing weight as her skin looked normal when she was fat. She said: 'There's no denying that I'm much healthier now but sometimes I think I'd be happier if I was fat - at least my skin fitted me.'

Sonny Lang, 22, from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, has cystic fibrosis, but has been told her body is too weak for another heart and lung transplant, so her prognosis is terminal (she is pictured in hospital, centre). As a baby, Miss Lang suffered a heart attack and her lungs collapsed due to the condition. She underwent a heart and lung transplant at just four years old, the youngest cystic fibrosis patient to ever undergo such a procedure (pictured top left). But after falling critically ill with pneumonia on a holiday to Crete last year, her lungs collapsed and her condition deteriorated. Doctors now say she has the heart and lungs of an 80-year-old, and she will not survive much longer - although it is not known exactly how much time she has. Her family and friends are now trying to raise money for her to fulfill a 'bucket list' of things she wants to do before she dies, including a trip to Disney Land Florida, a hot air balloon ride and a session with a MAC makeup artist. She also wants to learn to drive, watch the WWE wrestling in Leeds and work with elephants. Miss Lang, (pictured bottom left and right) said: 'I always knew I was not going to be around for ever but you just have to make the most of it while you're here. I just want to do a few things everyone would want to do and that I haven't been able to do because of my illness and may not be able to do in the future.'