Woman 'slowly suffocating in own faeces' in NHS hospital as friends crowdfund specialist treatment
Fund reaches £10,000 for private treatment
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Your support makes all the difference.Friends of a woman who is “slowly suffocating” in her own faeces, have raised £10,000 to fund private treatment for her at a specialist bowel centre.
Kelly Yeoman suffered complications following an operation and her body was left “filling with her own poo”.
The 34-year-old was initially admitted to Bristol's St Michael's Hospital in August for an endometriosis check.
A common condition where tissue that behaves like the lining of the womb (endometrium) is found in other parts of the body, it can appear in many different places, including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, inside the tummy, and in or around the bladder or bowel, according to NHS Choices.
After an operation to have a small fluid-filled sac on her ovary removed, she was sent home. But she was re-admitted two weeks later after her wound 'exploded' and she was told she had an infection in her bowel.
Another operation failed to fix the problem and she was later taken to Bristol's Southmead Hospital.
“They CT scanned me which showed my bowel was inflamed and I was severely constipated,” Ms Yeoman told the BBC, adding her lungs and diaphragm had moved up her torso, meaning: "I can't get a full breath”.
Southmead Hospital said Ms Yeoman was seen by a senior doctor daily and the surgical team regularly review her care.
The Independent contacted St Michael's Hospital, which said it had not received a complaint about Ms Yeoman's care.
"This means that we've not had the chance to either talk to her or investigate those concerns," a spokeswoman said.
Unhappy with her treatment, her friends set up a webpage to raise money for private care.
“Due to a slip of the scalpel, during a minor surgical procedure, Kelly Yeoman’s bowel was knocked, leaving her with a collection of infection which required two further surgeries to correct," a statement on the GoFundMe page says.
“As a result, her bowel is now unable to function, she is now horrifically feacally impacted [sic]... She is regularly vomiting a foul mixture of her last meal and her own excrement, and she is struggling to breathe.”
Ms Yeoman has been confined to a hospital bed for 10 weeks, the statement continues, adding that she has been “subjected to a series of increasingly humiliating and painful procedures, while nobody seems able to find a solution”.
At any moment, her bowel could perforate and she could have to use a colostomy bag for the rest of her life, it says.
Her friends want her to be admitted to St Mark’s Hospital, a specialist bowel centre in London, as a private patient.
A spokesperson from Southmead Hospital said: "Staff on the ward have a good relationship with Ms Yeoman and she is seen by a senior doctor every day to manage her complex care together with regular input from the surgical team.
"We encourage all patients to let staff know if they have any questions about their care.”
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