As I turned over in bed, a pain shot down my side. 

Sighing, I switched on the bedside light. There was no way I'd get back to sleep now. 

My whole body was hurting. These early hours, while the rest of the world slept, could be so long and lonely. But then, just as I was thinking of taking a painkiller, my phone bleeped with a message.

'Babe, miss you so much! I can't sleep, think about you 24/7.'

My pain was forgotten as I typed out a reply. It was so lovely to know my partner Maxwell Johnson was thinking of me. He would message me most days and if I was having a rough night he would stay awake with me too. 

I was born with a range of health issues, including mild cerebral palsy. For years it hadn't held me back – I had married three times and had five children.

Helen Larn was ten years' single when she received a message from a handsome stranger 

But by 2017 I needed to use a wheelchair when I left the house, and I had also been diagnosed with diabetes, arthritis and thyroid problems. I'd also been single and living alone for a decade by then. I had been feeling incredibly isolated until Maxwell had come into my life.

It had all started with a Facebook message – a simple hello. 

We did not know each other, but started to chat and connected immediately. Maxwell told me he was serving in the United States Air Force in Syria. At 59, he was just one year younger than me. I told him about my disabilities and he was so caring and accepting. 'Must be tough for you,' he wrote. Before I knew it, it was dark outside, and we had been chatting all day.

Maxwell messaged me the next day, and the next. When he asked for my number, to talk on WhatsApp, I was pleased.

Helen's daughter Chantelle, right, tried to warn her off Maxwell. But he convinced her that Chantelle was jealous of her happiness 

'I think I'm falling for you,' he admitted.

I couldn't help feeling flattered. This was the most attention I had received in a long time. Then, he sent me a photo of himself. He was so handsome, he looked like a movie star. 'Wow, you're gorgeous,' I said.

Honestly, I found it hard to believe he was interested in me, but when I sent a photo back he was full of compliments.

Later, he asked me to send him some saucy photos too, promising me they would be for his eyes only. I felt so young and excited as I took a few intimate shots and sent them on.

Maxwell must've liked them, because he told me he would come to visit me at my home in Weston-Super-Mare as soon as he got time off work. I couldn't wait.

But then Maxwell ran into problems. His money was tied up – because of US Air Force rules, he said – and he did not have enough to buy his airline ticket.

'Could you lend me the money?' he asked.