Leanne Battersby recently went through unimaginable tragedy on Coronation Street after the death of her three-year-old son Oliver, and in the new year there's horror when Simon Barlow finds her passed out after taking an overdose.
In heartbreaking Christmas scenes Leanne was resigned to the fact that she needed to make her partner Nick Tilsley move out so that he could bond with his nine-year-old son, Sam.
Then her step sister Toyah revealed that she was fostering a baby boy, which left Leanne reeling after her own loss.
Left alone for Christmas on Corrie the grieving mum pretended that she was going to France to spend it with her sister Eva.
Struggling to sleep, a dishevelled Leanne calls the medical centre to request sleeping pills.
But when she refuses to have an appointment a concerned Dr Susan Gaddas calls at the flat and is taken aback by the state of the place.
Leanne admits to Dr Gaddas that she’s been pretending to be in France and, seeing her anguish, the GP arranges for her to have sleeping tablets.
Desperate for sleep, Leanne lies down on the sofa.
As her adopted son Simon goes to get changed for his date with Kelly Neelan he’s horrified to find his mum passed out on the sofa next to a bottle of sleeping pills and calls an ambulance.
An embarrassed Leanne admits she just took one pill too many and had no intention of harming herself.
But Simon is horrified to learn she never went to France and has been alone in her flat for weeks.
With his focus now on Leanne, Simon calls Kelly to apologise before telling Leanne that it’s time he looked after her for a change.
When Nick asks about the ambulance Simon covers for Leanne as she continues to hide away from her loved ones.
The soap has raised awareness of mitochondrial disease with the harrowing storyline.
Oliver was diagnosed earlier this year after suffering from seizures and sympathies Leanne fought in court in an attempt to stop her boy's life support from being switched off.
Last month she said a final goodbye after she came to the realisation that his life support needed to be switched off.
Mitochondrial disease is the term given to a group of medical disorders caused by mutations in mitochondria - tiny organelles present in nearly every cell in our bodies which generate about 90 per cent of the energy we need to live.
Cells cannot function properly without healthy mitochondria, so when they fail the consequences can be serious and wide-ranging.
Mitochondrial diseases affect people in different ways, depending on which cells are affected.
A person with a mitochondrial disease may suffer from seizures, fatigue, vision and hearing loss, cognitive disabilities, respiratory problems or poor growth. Any of the body's organs and systems can be affected including the brain, heart, lungs, gut, liver and skin.
If you are affected or are living with someone who has a mitochondrial disease, for information about the disease and the support available visit thelilyfoundation.org.uk and to make a donation click here.
