A GRAN says she is “starving to death” and survives on a diet of just Skips and flat Diet Coke, having lost 12 stone in just nine months.
Kathy Allan, 58, has become so weak that the only food she can manage to keep down is two packets of the crisps each day.
The gran-of-six, from Ayr, was diagnosed in October with a four-inch stomach hernia that causes her to constantly be sick when she eats or drinks.
Kathy has lost a frightening 12 stone in just nine months, after weighing 17 stone last summer.
She has begged medics for an urgent operation to put an end to her misery, but has been hit with three cancellations at Ayr Hospital, with NHS Ayrshire & Arran facing a surgeon crisis, after the top specialist retired in March.
Now health chiefs have been forced to transfer her 180 miles away to Aberdeen for the procedure, but professionals at NHS Grampian won’t perform the op unless Kathy gains weight.
Fearing she won’t make it to see Christmas, Kathy has been left desperately guzzling Skips in a bid to stay alive.
She said: “I feel like I’m just hanging on to my life now. I don’t know how much more my body can take.
“I’ve lost 12 stone. I’m like a child’s weight now and I’m too weak for surgery. I need a feeding tube, it’s my last hope.
“The only thing I can barely keep down is Skips. I’m surviving on just those and flat diet cokes.
“I eat one small bag in the morning and a bigger packet at night. It’s because they dissolve it’s the only thing that works.
“I still like a cup of tea at night but sometimes as soon as I drink it I’m rushing to the toilet to be sick.”
Kathy has revealed how the last time she attempted to eat chips she ended up gagging and choking.
She bruised her chest from battering it as she desperately tried to bring the food up after it became ‘stuck’.
Kathy said: “We were down in Blackpool for my grandson’s 18th with all the family.
“They were all having fish ‘n’ chips and I felt left out. I decided to just try a few chips but was the worst decision.
“When I got back to the hotel room I was panicking, it felt like it had gotten stuck, I was gagging and choking, I was terrified,
“Eventually I got it back up, I haven’t been able to eat properly since I’m too scared to.”
Kathy is desperate for a feeding tube which will go through her nose and directly to her stomach giving her the best chance for nutrients getting into her body.
But Kathy has been left furious by how long it has taken medical teams to finally give the treatment the green light, after calls for it in Ayrshire were blanked.
She said: “It’s too little too late, my daughter suggested it months ago.
“Why has it taken so long? If this is the only way to build me up for surgery I should already have it.
“All I’m doing is waiting, there is no urgency at all. When I was up in Aberdeen I was told I would need the feeding tube.
I really don’t feel like I’ve got long left, my body is starved of nutrients
Kathy Allan
“That was two weeks ago and we’re no further forward.
“I really don’t feel like I’ve got long left, my body is starved of nutrients.
“Everyday is a battle to get up, I have constant headaches and feel faint all the time.
“I don’t feel like time is on my side to continue waiting, I’m desperate.”
Kathy has hit out at health chiefs over the mammoth journey to the north east which she says has put added “pressure and stress” on her family.
Kathy, added: “When they told me I had to go to Aberdeen, I couldn’t believe it. It’s not exactly round the corner.
“We already done one trip up there to meet the surgical team, we had to stay overnight. The fuel and accommodation alone was £150.
“Not everyone in the family will be able to make it up to come visit. What if there is any complications? It’s just putting a lot of pressure and stress on us all.
“I’m worried my husband is now becoming ill over it because he’s not being eating properly now either. He’s worried sick.”
Kathy’s daughter Samantha Allan, 41, has told how the she’s watched on in horror as her mum “fades away” before her eyes.
She said: “I’m doing everything I can to support my mum.
“She’s emotional everyday, sometimes she just breaks down in tears.
“She just has no motivation. What has happened to her has taken her life away.
“My children are struggling to see their granny like this, she’s just fading away right in front of our eyes.”
Dr Crawford McGuffie, Medical Director, at NHS Ayrshire & Arran said: “Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to comment on individual cases.
“NHS Ayrshire & Arran does currently have a vacancy for a bariatric surgeon, following the departure of a member of staff earlier this year.
“This is a highly specialist post we are actively recruiting for at the moment.
“It is normal practice for health boards to arrange for specialist procedures that are unavailable in the patient’s home board to be carried out at a health board elsewhere in Scotland where the procedure is available.”
NHS Grampian were not able to comment due to patient confidentiality.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As the NHS works to clear backlogs of care, and to address specifically the longest waits, some patients will be offered appointments out with their local health board area so treatment can be provided more quickly.
“This may be for specialist care or as part of our National Treatment Centre programme.
“This is part of our approach to drive innovation and introduce new ways of delivering care that will create additional capacity for inpatient, daycase and outpatients.
“We are unable to comment on the specifics of individual cases.”
