One surgery.   Four sepsises.   Two years without food.

 

In November 2022, I flew to Istanbul for gastric sleeve surgery, full of hope and ready for a new start. Instead, I woke up into a nightmare.

The pain was brutal—far worse than anything I'd ever known. And I already live with chronic pain. I begged the nurses and my rep for help. They brushed it off as “gas pain” and told me to walk it off. I’m a wheelchair user-I managed a few agonising steps with a walker, but my body couldn’t cope. I couldn’t drink water. I couldn’t stand. I was screaming in pain.

They discharged me anyway

At the hotel, I messaged my rep on WhatsApp, desperate for help. Her advice? “Drink more water,” “I’ll pray for you,” and “I’ll tell the surgeon.”

I never heard from the surgeon again

 

Back Home: The Truth Comes Out

Once back in the UK, my GP was horrified by my blood results and told me to get to hospital... immediately.

A CT scan revealed the truth:

My stomach had been over-stapled and twisted, corkscrewing on itself. A leak had formed at the very bottom of my oesophagus, and every sip of water I took leaked into my abdominal cavity. And the kicker was... I had sepsis.

What Followed Was Hell:

• 4 episodes of life threatening sepsis
• 89 days in hospital
• I missed Christmas, New Year and Easter
• Fed by tube for 2.5 years
• I had a tube (Nasojejunal/NJ) through my nose and down into my jejunum (small intestines)
• Followed by a feeding tube through a hole in my abdominal wall (P.E.G)
• Over a year nil by mouth – not even water
• A septic mass wrapped around my spleen and diaphragm, collapsing my lung
• Hospital-acquired infection, antibiotic resistant
• Blood clot, anaemia, clotting disorder
• 18 months of twice daily blood thinning injections
• Permanent nerve damage in my bowels, oesophagus, bladder, and stomach
• Lost the ability to walk completely 
• Pain so severe I take morphine six times daily
• Diabetes destroyed – daily rollercoaster of blood sugars
• Lost independence
• Gained trauma, isolation, and cPTSD

But hey - no more sleep apnoea, so… silver linings?

A Glimmer of Hope

In early 2024, I was contacted by Professor Rishi Singhal, a leading bariatric surgeon. After hospital stays, tests, and tears, he offered a lifeline:

A corrective gastric bypass, scheduled for 26 July 2024.

It was risky. Life-threatening, even. But I had no choice.

He gave me a fighting chance.  

 

Recovery: A Work in Progress

Mentally:

• I’m in Tier 4 therapy to process the trauma
• Medication to support my mental health journey.
• Mindfulness classes

Physically:

• Still on a PEG feeding tube
• Still in daily agony from adhesions, nerve damage, and the septic mass
• Bedridden, can’t sit up for long
• Struggling with extreme fatigue and a broken immune system
• Diabetes is chaotic, thanks to anatomical changes
• Still waiting for an endocrinologist who understands bariatric anatomy (been 12 months and counting)

But… I can now eat a few liquid/soft foods.

Swallowing hurts.

GERD is brutal.

Constantly nauseous.

Plenty of fainting episodes

 

But it’s all progress. And that’s something.

 

Why I’m Telling My Story

 

This website exists to:

 

• Expose the brutal truth about medical tourism

 

• Support survivors who feel ignored, gaslit, or alone

 

• Call out negligence and unsafe clinics

 

• Create a space for victims to speak up and be heard

 

If this happened to you—or someone you love—you are not alone.