A former headteacher who spent 12 weeks thinking she was going to die has shared her inspiring story from being diagnosed with a rare lung condition to becoming an award-winning businesswoman. Krissi Saccho, 50, was diagnosed with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, a condition which mimics symptoms of cancer, back in 2017.
As a result of the illness, Krissi, from Bingham, suffers with extreme pains and symptoms of arthritis and other ailments that people with cancer may get. Doctors initially diagnosed Krissi with terminal lung cancer and she says the next 12 weeks were a 'horror story' thinking she was going to die.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world in early 2020, Krissi was given one task that year by her doctor - 'to stay alive'. As a result she was entirely house-bound which, while affecting her in-school teaching and consultancy career, gave her an idea.
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She had previously undertaken tutoring so that she could make some extra money to pay for private treatment for her children, who also suffer from a rare genetic disability called Ehlors Danlos Syndrome and Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. So, she decided to set up The Tutor Boss offering classes to children who are neurodiverse or disabled.
Krissi said: "Because of the pandemic, I wasn't able to leave the house for about a year. My illness is a really rare lung condition, so obviously I was then house-bound which, as a teacher, is not very good.
"I was doing consultancy and things like that, I was still teaching and in high level positions and then was told by my respiratory consultant 'your one job this year is to stay alive'. They didn't know how it was going to affect my condition.
"With Pulmonary Sarcoidosis there's no cure, they don't even know properly how to treat it. Because it's so rare there's not really a lot of treatment around it.
"Some people did die of it, Covid, who had my illness. So I was absolutely terrified because I have children.
"My children also have a genetic disability called Ehlors Danlos Syndrome and Postural Tachycardia Syndrome which is a linked illness and causes both significant difficulty. So it was literally 'OK, what am I going to do' because there was no way that I was going to be able to go back into any type of school environment.
"Most of my income involves leaving the house. I'd previously done a bit of tutoring over the years when I'd have to. I used to do it to pay for private treatments for my kids.
"When people found out I was tutoring because of the situation that was happening, I'd just get people asking if I could tutor for them. And I thought hang on a minute, I might actually be able to do something with this.
"Within about six months I went from nothing to a high five-figure turnover, and within 18 months now there's five of us and we've just hit a six-figure turnover. So it was literally that quick."
The Tutor Boss was crowned Rushcliffe business of the year 2022, held at the Rushcliffe arena. Recalling her diagnosis and the challenges that come with it, she added: "I was originally diagnosed in 2017.
"But the horror story to that was that I was originally diagnosed terminally ill with lung cancer. The thing with Sarcoidosis is it mimics cancer and it's often found by accident.
"So I spent 12 weeks thinking that I was going to die. I don't have any family - my community took care of me.
"I couldn't do anything - I was so sick. Essentially my illness has gone into remission, it comes in and out of remission like cancer does.
"So for a long time they were mystified as to what was wrong with me. It was horrendous. The difficulty is people look at you and think you look perfectly fine, and I guess I do. And that's the hard thing about it.
"If I was disabled with something visual then you get everything that comes along with that in terms of the way people treat you. But I do want people to understand that there are a lot of people stuck indoors, and not because they're lazy or want to stay at home.
"I've got two autistic members of staff, another who is completely housebound through disability and I have a single parent who wouldn't be able to go out and access a nine-to-five job. Some days my hands don't work, at the moment I can't wear shoes, I can only wear crocks.
"Sometimes I get inflammation and extreme pain. I think it's been quite humbling."
Speaking on her award win, she said: "I never win anything - I really don't like the limelight. It was an incredible day but I zoned out when they announced my name. But I am absolutely thrilled to have won if not a little shellshocked."
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