2 days ago
I spent £11,000 on surgery to lose 12 stone for my wedding - but developed a deadly disease that left my so weak I couldn't walk down the aisle without crutches
A bride-to-be who splashed £11,000 in a desperate bid to lose weight for her wedding was left too weak to walk down the aisle.
Betty Hunt, from Middlesbrough, weighed 20 stone, 3 pounds when she underwent a gastric sleeve operation in November 2023 and, within 12 weeks, she had lost five stone.
Despite plummeting from a size 24 to a slender size 8, the 24-year-old had grown worried that she couldn't keep food down and had begun experiencing dizziness.
She was forced to undergo IV treatment for dehydration in January 2024, weighing 8 stone 4 pounds, but one morning she woke up with her legs feeling like 'jelly' and unable to see properly.
Just seven months before her wedding day, 5ft 3in Betty was diagnosed with Wernicke's encephalopathy, a life-threatening brain condition caused by a vitamin B1 deficiency.
She was hospitalised for four months to have drips and physiotherapy, leaving her fearing she wouldn't survive or be well enough to attend her big day.
Betty had to walk down the aisle using a crutch in September 2024, and she even had to sit down as she and now-husband, Nathan Hunt, 24, exchanged vows.
He had to 'hold her up' during their first dance and she was 'saddened' not to have the strength or energy to boogie with her bridesmaids at their reception.
She's since admitted that, despite 'looking like a different person' as a result of her weight loss, she now 'doesn't have a life'.
The former claims advisor still can't walk unaided, struggles to use her shaking hands and has sight issues due to permanent nerve damage.
'I thought I might not make it to my wedding. I thought about rescheduling it but my physios in hospital were amazing,' Betty said.
'The night of my wedding I had my first dance with my husband but he had to hold me up the whole time. I couldn't step to the side or anything, I couldn't stand.
'I wanted to lose weight before my wedding, that was the whole reason why I wanted [a gastric sleeve] done.
'Seeing all of my bridesmaids, my friends and family up on the dance floor, I couldn't get up with them.
'It was really sad, I didn't have the wedding I thought I was going to. I couldn't just enjoy the night.
'One thing that my family were told is that if I wasn't brought into hospital when I did go in I would have died within two weeks.
'Whenever I was taking any tablets, drinking any water, my protein shakes, any food, I was constantly throwing up.
'My legs had gone like jelly. I was numb from my boobs down. I couldn't feel anything.
'They [Betty's family] said I was also yellow because my liver was shutting down.
'Because I was so malnourished and poorly at the time my organs were starting to shut down. I look like a different person now but I don't have a life.'
Betty, who is now unable to work, had wanted to get a gastric sleeve after struggling to lose the 8 stone she'd put on in just eight months during 2020.
Before the operation, Betty would skip breakfast then have a bowl of pasta for lunch, eat takeaway pizza, kebab or chick parmigiana most nights for dinner and snack on crisps, chocolate, ice cream and cookies throughout the day.
Now, she survives on protein coffee drinks, small portions of chilli and rice or ravioli, and no snacks and gets additional calories through a feeding tube.
She said the surgery company was supposed to provide dietitians who would call Betty regularly to check in on her after the procedure.
Betty, who is now unable to work, had wanted to get a gastric sleeve after struggling to lose the 8 stone she'd put on in just eight months during 2020
'I thought I might not make it to my wedding. I thought about rescheduling it but my physios in hospital were amazing,' Betty, from Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, said
WHAT IS WERNICKE'S ENCEPHALOPATHY?
According to the NHS, Wernicke's encephalopathy is a condition that affects your brain and is caused by a lack of thiamine (vitamin B1).
Some of the reasons you might not have enough thiamine (vitamin B1) include poor diet, malnourishment, vomiting, liver disease and weight loss.
Betty said when she told them about the vomiting they were just 'excited about the weight she'd lost' and claims she hasn't heard from them since January 2024.
On 4 February 2024, a family member took her to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where she was diagnosed with Wernicke's encephalopathy, which is a rare potential side effect of bariatric surgery.
She hopes to be able to walk unaided within a few more years of physiotherapy.
'I feel very angry because the reason why I got it done in the UK and paid a lot more money for the surgery was because I wanted to be safe and I wanted to make sure I had good aftercare,' Betty said.
'Looking back on it now it's scary because I was so oblivious that this could happen. I'd done so much research before actually getting the surgery and this never came up ever.
'Every time I'd tell [the surgery company] how much weight I'd lost they'd go, 'Oh my god that's amazing'
'I was saying to them it's good that I'm losing weight but I'm also not keeping anything down.
'My energy was so low. It was affecting me, I just wanted to finish work and go to bed.
'I have really shaky hands as well so pouring a kettle, writing, anything like that I can't do and with my eyesight, I can't really see.
'I've got no independence.'
Betty said she has had to pause her physiotherapy because she is extremely weak from the weight loss but has a feeding tube that helps her get extra calories into her body.
She hopes this will help her gain muscle so she can continue learning how to stand and walk independently.
