A bride-to-be may only be able to eat a couple of Haribo sweets at her own wedding after being diagnosed with a paralysed stomach. Gabriella Overton, 33, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, has gastroparesis – a condition that leaves her unable to eat normally – and now relies on a permanent feeding tube.
Overton, who is engaged to Elle Dushossoy, 30, first fell ill during a trip to Bath in February. After a meal, she experienced "horrendous" pain and vomiting, which she described as feeling like being stabbed in the stomach with an electrode. Her condition spiralled, and she began to lose weight rapidly.
Doctors tested her for coeliac disease, five different cancers, malaria and dengue fever, but all tests came back clear. At her lowest, she weighed 6.7st (43kg) and said size four clothes "hung off" her. She was eventually admitted to a gastroenterology ward in November and diagnosed with gastroparesis in February.
The condition means she has a permanent feeding tube fitted through her abdomen into her stomach and small intestines, which she may need for life. Her safe foods are limited to ginger biscuits, a square of Galaxy or Lindt chocolate, or a couple of Haribo – but even these do not always stay down. As a result, she will not be able to take part in cake tasting or plan the wedding food, and probably cannot eat the chosen menu on the day.
Overton, who now weighs 8st (52kg), is speaking out to raise awareness of her "invisible" illness. She said: "You can't always see how poorly someone is or what they're going through." She described her ordeal, including being "skeletal" and "broken" during the worst of the condition.
