Thousands across the UK are paying tribute to the NHS as it celebrates its 70th birthday.
One of those people is former X Factor judge Cheryl, who took to Twitter to thank the NHS for saving her life eight years ago.
The star was left fighting for her life in 2010 after contracting malaria during a trip to Tanzania.
8 years ago today the NHS were there for me when I needed them the most. I cannot begin to express my gratitude. We are so incredibly lucky to have them. Selfless people working day and night to help at any given time 🙏🏼 #grateful #NHS70
— Cheryl (@CherylOfficial) 5 July 2018
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Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Cheryl shared an emotional message to the NHS.
She wrote: “8 years ago today the NHS were there for me when I needed them the most.
“I cannot begin to express my gratitude. We are so incredibly lucky to have them. Selfless people working day and night to help at any given time. #grateful #NHS70.”
The former Girls Aloud singer, 35, contracted the disease when she was bitten by a mosquito during her travels in Tanzania.
She was there to climb Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief in 2010.
In 2014, fours years after the ordeal, Cheryl made a malaria appeal in a video for Sports Relief.
Recalling the days when she was just “hours from death,” Cheryl said: “When I climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief five years ago it was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
“The motivation lay in knowing it could help in eradicating malaria and ultimately saving lives by providing mosquito nets.”
She continued: “I didn’t for one minute think that only a year later, I would get malaria myself and become so ill that, at one point, I was given 24 hours to live.
“It was the scariest thing you could ever imagine for me and for my friends and family.”
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Cheryl said she was “lucky” because she had “the best care I could get”.
“Some people are not so lucky,” she added.
“I’ve decided to speak out about this because having experienced it, it’s obviously very close to my heart and I want people to know how easy it is to help.”
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