When Stella Petty was just five-years-old she contracted pneumonia in both lungs and, diagnosed with tuberculosis, was admitted to a sanitorium. She didn’t come out until she was 11.

“I lost my childhood,” said Stella, 87, who lives in Edmonton, north London. “And when they finally discharged me, a nurse took me home and told my mum they couldn’t do anything for me. They expected me to die, but I’m still here, and the best part of my life now is going to the Re-engage tea parties. They are so good. I look forward to them all the time I really consider myself lucky.”

Stella was treated at a sanitorium in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, where she was given daily injections and occasionally taken outside, but there was no formal education.

“I couldn’t do anything because I was so ill,” she said. “I didn’t learn to read until I was 17 but I’m so proud of the fact that I taught myself. My dad died when I was three-years-old so mum was trying to hold down several jobs and look after four children. She didn’t have much time to come and see me and travelling was so expensive, so I didn’t see much of her.

“She would bring me presents for Christmas and my birthday but I wasn’t allowed to have them in case it spread the bacteria. The only good thing was that my eldest sister would come in on Sundays with her boyfriend. That was something I looked forward to. The room I was in was small with a red door and glass panel so the nurses could look through and check on you. There was a little girl next door called Mary and we’d talk to each other through the walls because they were very thin. Then one day I called out to her and there was no reply. She had died.”

When Stella - who is a guest at the Enfield and Southgate tea party group - was finally discharged it took her a long time to adjust to the outside world and the first time she heard a bus it frightened her so much she cried. Eventually she went to a summer open air school where teaching took place outside so the children could get plenty of fresh air to help combat tuberculosis. And at 14, still defying the doctors who thought she was too ill to survive, attended a special needs school before finally getting a job in a toy factory, while also learning to drive – passing her test first time.

“Then one day I learned that mum was very ill so I gave up my job and looked after her for 11 years until she died. I loved her to bits. I had a boyfriend at one point but he went off and I was told because of my condition I could never have children. Yes, life has been hard but I’m lucky to be alive. I’ve found some good friends at the tea parties so it’s not all bad.”