Spoilers: Nick feels pushed out in Corrie as Leanne is determined to cope alone

Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) has been by Leanne’s (Jane Danson) side every step of the way in Coronation Street following Oliver having been diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, but he seemingly begins to feel pushed out in the coming episodes, as Leanne is determined to cope alone.

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Leanne, Steve (Simon Gregson), Tracy (Kate Ford) and Nick, as they’re all worried about Oliver and the cause behind his seizures.

Last week, Dr Ward (Zitta Sattar) revealed that Oliver could have mitochondrial disease, and subsequent episodes saw both Steve and Leanne attempting to find out as much about the diagnosis as possible.

What is mitochondrial disease?

Mitochondrial diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialized compartments present in every cell of the body (except red blood cells).

Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support organ function. When they fail, less and less energy is generated within the cell. Cell injury and even cell death follow. If this process is repeated throughout the body, whole organ systems begin to fail.

The parts of the body, such as the heart, brain, muscles and lungs, requiring the greatest amounts of energy are the most affected.

Symptoms vary depending on the organ(s) affected but may include seizures, atypical cerebral palsy, autistic features, developmental problems, fainting and temperature instability.

According to The Lily Foundation, the prognosis depends upon the severity of the disease and other criteria. As more research funds are raised to find more effective treatments and ultimately a cure, some of the affected children and adults are living fairly normal lives with mitochondrial disease.

In other cases, children may not be able to see, hear, talk or walk. Affected children may not survive beyond their teenage years. Adult onset can result in drastic changes from an active lifestyle to a debilitating ilness is a short amount of time.

Treatment plans vary from patient to patient but involve therapies, diet changes and other means to try and slow the progress of the disease.

You can find out more information from the NHS here.

It also came to light last week that Nick was struggling with the thought of Oliver in such pain, and therefore he lashed out.

Leanne didn’t take Nick’s comments too well, but as he tried to clarify what he meant, she ordered him to leave the hospital, but they soon made up in the following episode.

However, it appears as if Nick might feel pushed out once more in the coming episodes, as Coronation Street has revealed that — after Leanne arrives home with Oliver — both Nick and Simon offer to help out.

Leanne refuses their assistance, as she’s determined to cope alone, but Nick wonders if there’s anything he can to do help.

Coronation Street continues Monday 25 May at 7:30pm on ITV.

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