Faye has 10 years of nothing but chips
For 10 years chips have been the staple diet of one Stowmarket teenager who suffers from a painful medical condition every time she eats.
Faye Campbell, 15, of Lavenham Way, Stowmarket, only drank milk until the age of five, but now eats nothing but chips because she suffers from gastro-oesophagel reflux disease, which means acid from her stomach leaks up through her oesophagus.
Faye, a Stowmarket High School pupil, was diagnosed with the condition two years ago by Dr Nigel Meadows, who runs the feeding team at St Bart's and the London NHS Trust.
"I didn't know what was wrong and I couldn't explain it, so I was glad when tests showed I had a reflux problem," said Faye.
"I have a food phobia, but the medicine I take and support from a psychologist helps – and my family have been great."
Her mother, Carolyn, 37, and father, Mark, 39, said they were grateful for Dr Meadows' diagnosis which had made it easier to treat Faye's condition.
Mrs Campbell said: "In desperation, I used to take Faye to the shop and tell her she could have anything she wanted to eat, but she always refused.
"I just knew it wasn't a fad or Faye being picky like the doctors said – there was something wrong.
"Now we know about the condition we can work to control it and Faye will be having more tests to see if surgery can correct the problem."
Faye first began eating chips after she tried one at a family meal and found it easy to digest.
Recently, she has eaten potato waffles, plain noodles from one specific Chinese takeaway and plain McDonald's burgers, which has been made possible by medicine to control the acid in her stomach.
Speaking about the future, Mrs Campbell added: "I would love Faye to be able to go into a restaurant and order anything off the menu."
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Saturday 04 February 2012
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