Talia Sinnott (25) from Tettenhall, England, is seriously ill. She suffers from gastroparesis. This means their stomach has trouble processing food. She vomits often – up to 30 times a day. There’s only one thing she’s been able to eat without a problem: cookies!
Her stomach problems started in 2018. She often felt bloated and unwell after eating. It got worse over the years. So she started eating smaller portions and took a medicine that relieved her symptoms for a short time, according to the British newspaper Nottingham Post.
But on New Year’s Day of that year, she contracted a virus that attacked her digestive system, and her condition took a serious turn for the worse. She lost weight quickly. The doctors had to insert a stomach tube to provide her with nutrients. The only solid food she could eat was biscuits. But here too she must be careful. “I can’t eat much at once and have to eat throughout the day. It’s strange, some cookies I can eat, others I can’t. I have no safe food to rely on,” she told the Nottingham Post.
“I was a great foodie”
There are a few days when your body can tolerate other foods as well. Why is not clear. It’s always a guessing game what you can and can’t eat. «One day I can eat a certain food without any problem and three days later I can’t tolerate it anymore. I went through a phase where I tolerated mashed potatoes because they are soft, but I can’t do that anymore.”
She’s just happy with a diagnosis now. The disease is rare and difficult to diagnose. She now hopes that a gastric pacemaker can ease her suffering. The device sends pulses to her abdominal muscles to help digest the food she eats. She needs £80,000 for it. Too much money for the young woman. So she started a fundraiser. Almost 30,000 euros have now been raised.
Her greatest wish: to be able to eat normally again. “I used to be a great connoisseur. I like food.” She hopes to enjoy Christmas dinner again next year. (lrc)