Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Bride couldn't tuck into her wedding breakfast 5 years ago - and hasn't eaten ANYTHING since

Brave mum: Nicola Nichols who is fed via a tube into her bowel as her stomach doesn't work
Bride Nicola Nichols couldn’t eat anything at her wedding breakfast five years ago – and hasn’t eaten a single thing since.
But it wasn't wedding jitters stopping her from tucking in.
The 25-year-old's stomach stopped working after a bout of flu two years earlier, leaving her unable to keep any food or liquid down and she would vomit up to 50 times a day.
Doctors suspected she had an eating disorder but she was actually suffering from gastroparesis, which means her stomach cannot empty itself of food normally, and intestinal failure when she was 18.
She has been fed by a tube into her bowel ever since.
At her wedding, everyone else was enjoying succulent duck, beef and a rich chocolate cake for dessert, not one morsel passed the bride's lips.
CascadeNicola and Ben Nichols on their wedding day
Beautiful bride: Nicola and Ben Nichols on their wedding day
While the mum-of-two faces the very real prospect that she might never eat again, she is determined to stay positive for her children.
She managed to give birth to William, aged three, and daughter Felicity, 10 months, despite her stomach problems.
She said: "Everyone takes eating and drinking for granted — even something simple like having a nice hot cup of tea.
"But once you realise that you can't eat you realise just how big a part of your life it is.
"When it started Ben and I had only been together for two months and we couldn't go out for meals together like dating couples usually do.
"I really struggled with everything at first but the support my family has given me has helped me get through it.
"Ben always says 'believe the impossible' and 'never say never'.
"You never know, maybe one day I'll be able to have a transplant of some kind and eat again.
"As a family we just accept it now — mummy doesn't eat, but daddy, William and Felicity do.
"I couldn't even eat my own wedding breakfast, which was really hard.
"I used to be nine stone but now I struggle to keep my weight above seven.
"But we always say that someone else is always worse off. I'm lucky that I have two beautiful children despite my problem. My two miracles."
Nicola's problem started seven years ago after suffering a bout of the flu.
She said: "It literally came out of the blue. Both my mum and I had the flu at the same time but mine was different and I was constantly sick.
"I was eating every day but everything came back up.
"After a week of the flu I felt a bit better but I still couldn't keep any food or water down.

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