THE most powerful woman in Bolton has spoken about her battle against a debilitating illness that threatened to put her in a wheelchair.

Bolton Council Leader Cllr Barbara Ronson has now recovered from Polymyalgia Rheumatica -- a rare auto-immune, inflammatory disease for which she had to take steroids until earlier this year.

"There is just no way I could have been leader if I had still been ill," the 61-year-old Lib Dem councillor from Horwich said today. "I was seriously considering standing down from my party, let alone the council."

Problems began on a touring holiday in Scotland in 1999 with husband Bob, a fellow councillor, when she suffered from agonising pains in her legs.

"It was very frightening because it was like severe cramping pains in a couple of places that would not respond to painkillers," she said.

Back home, she saw her GP but by now Cllr Ronson had also developed blinding headaches and eyesight problems including flashing lights. It was a month before PMR was diagnosed, and she was put on a high dose of the steroid Prednisolone.

"This seemed to work," she said. "It certainly reduced the pain, but the side effects were weight gain and the classic 'moon face'.

"I became tired very easily. I've always been a fan of walking. Bob and I thought nothing of going up Rivington Pike. But I found that I couldn't walk anywhere without planning it first -- I thought Winter Hey Lane was flat before, but I found out it's a hill!"

Cllr Ronson had been a busy ward councillor, conspicuous at local events and a tireless worker for several local organisations. She did not want to let anyone down.

"It did become hard," she said. And, sometimes, people were tactless.

"They would say to my face that I was getting fat. But I didn't want to tell everyone about the medication, so only a few people knew the real reason."

Her weight ballooned. She put on three stone and went from a neat size 12 to a bulky size 20. The result was not only a wardrobe of larger clothes, but bouts of depression

. "I felt I looked awful, but I also really feared that I would never get better," she said. "We started looking at wheelchairs to ensure I could still get about. The future didn't look good."

Then, one day at St Katharine's Church in Blackrod, she met a woman who had been a sufferer, but who was now better and free of symptoms.

"That made me feel more positive," said Cllr Ronson, a retired college lecturer. "I knew there was no cure, but I just wanted to feel well again."

It was not, however, until last year that she really felt that the illness was easing. A reduction programme of coming off the steroids was put in place and, just a few months ago, she stopped taking them altogether.

After the local elections in June, Cllr Ronson found herself in the totally unexpected situation of leading the majority party on Bolton Council.

"I have had so much support -- from other councillors, from council officers, from Bob, of course, and from friends. But now I think I was lucky to have it diagnosed so early, and to be given this second chance to work for Bolton."

FACTFILE

POLYMYALGIA Rheumatica is a disorder that causes stiffness and aching. It is not known whether it is a disease of the joints, muscles or arteries but it is thought that inflammation in these areas leads to pain and stiffness.

It tends to start very suddenly, typically affects people in their 60s and 70s and can last for a couple of years. It may return in about 10 per cent of cases.

PMR is not fatal but there is no cure; it is usually treated with steroids.