Kerry Katona has revealed she felt "validated" after her recent health struggles left her "crippled" before receiving a diagnosis.
The singer and entertainer recently revealed she had been diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, which has caused her severe pain for several years.
But the Warrington-born star admits that she became fed up with hearing herself complain about the pain she was in before finally seeking medical help.
It's estimated that around three or four in every 1,000 children are suffering from scoliosis, with the condition being more common in women than it is in men.
Speaking to the Mirror, Kerry said: "I've lived with chronic pain for years, so to actually get a diagnosis and have a plan of action to try and give it treatment – I feel validated and cried because I was in so much pain.
"Yeah, it was crippling – I got fed up with hearing myself complain, I'm so used to my pain, I will carry on with it.
"I'm always busy and work and I've got the kids, I always put myself last."
Kerry was set to hit the road again, getting up close and personal with fans in an intimate question and answer session reflecting on all aspects of her life – including the highs from topping the charts and some of her lowest moments.
"Oh my God, it's got to be the hardest tour I've ever done," she said before explaining: "I was in a different bed every single night, that's what crippled me at the end.
"I got home and my body just went into shut down, I love my job, there's no two days the same, I'm not stuck behind a desk – I'm so lucky and grateful. I get asked to do some amazing reality shows, you wouldn't normally do and I think 'How lucky am I?' I might have all this money and it gives me options to create great memories."
She continued: "That's where my riches are and the adventures that I have on these reality shows. None of this [financial wealth] means anything, I can't take it when I die – when I'm on my deathbed, I have the memories and the images and the feelings of the adventures that I created with my family."
Kerry Katona: Whole Again, published by Mirror Books RRP £9.99, is on sale in paperback and available on Amazon now.
