Englishman Matthew Pascoe (33) suffers from a serious and extremely rare disease that is destroying his life. Although he initially thought he had caught a common virus, in reality the condition literally paralyzed his stomach. , had to raise thousands of pounds for a breakthrough device to help ease his symptoms.
- Matthew Pascoe suffers from a serious stomach condition called gastroparesis.
- This disease prevents digestion of food, which causes frequent nausea and vomiting.
- He had to raise money for a device called a neurostimulator to relieve his symptoms.
The disease destroyed his health
Matthew, a former grocery store manager from the English city of Colchester, began to suffer from unusual symptoms in April 2018. He vomited up to four times a day, which eventually led to his hospitalization. Although he initially thought he had caught a virus, doctors diagnosed him with gastroparesis. It is a rare disease that slows down or completely stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine.
The condition prevented the young man from digesting food, leading to severe abdominal pain. “There were days when I was bedridden because the pain was so bad I couldn’t stand up. My stomach was basically paralyzed,” Matthew added, noting that at his worst he vomited up to 60 times a day.
He had to raise money for the treatment himself
In April 2019, Matthew decided to visit a private clinic. There he specialist Sritharan Kadirkamanathan recommended a device called a neurostimulator that acts as an artificial engine for the patient’s digestive system. The device sends gentle electrical impulses to the stomach, which helps control chronic nausea and vomiting caused by gastroparesis. However, according to him, the British National Health Service (NHS) rejected the funding, so the young man had to collect the necessary 20 thousand pounds through a fundraiser.
Doctors implanted the device in him. Matthew revealed that his symptoms immediately eased. “The pain was much more manageable. I still had nausea from certain foods, but it wasn’t terrible. For the first time in two years I was able to eat a whole meal. I got back on my feet, the color returned to my face and I slowly gained weight,” he hinted.
Although the device worked flawlessly for almost seven years, Matthew recently started to have another problem. The neurostimulator comes with a battery that should last 10 to 15 years. But his device worked so intensively that its lifespan was reduced by up to half. The battery is now at a critical level and the specialist told him that he has about a month before it is completely discharged. “The replacement will cost me another 15,000 pounds,” emphasized the devastated young man.
