US doctors cure girl 'who could never eat'
A young British girl has eaten food for the first time in more than seven years after US doctors solved a medical mystery, it emerged today.
Tilly Merrell, from Worcestershire in England, was told she would never eat a normal meal by British doctors who discovered that food went to her lungs rather than her stomach.
The eight-year-old had not eaten a meal since she was one and was told she would have to wear a backpack with a food pump wired to her stomach for the rest of her life.
But her family refused to give up and the local community rallied to raise £10,000 (€14,500) for her to undergo three weeks of tests in California.
They hoped specialists could cure her Isolated Bulbar Palsy – a weakness in the nerves controlling swallowing.
And doctors at Lucile Packard’s Children’s Hospital have done just that - claiming that the only thing wrong with Tilly was enlarged tonsils.
Consultants were intrigued that she had no neurological symptoms often associated with the palsy.
And after giving her a barium meal, they concluded that while she had had infections, they were long gone and food went straight to her stomach.
Occupational therapist Marianna Thorn, who sees Tilly for her last appointment today, said the medical team had not ruled out that the youngster had had a problem at some point.
“She has a very long history of being fed through a tube, so we gave her the option of feeding her slowly here at the hospital so we could monitor her weight,” she said.
“It was difficult at first and she picked at her food but she’s done beautifully and can now enjoy eating.”
British doctors had told Tilly, whose favourite smell is bacon, and her family that they would just have to accept she would never eat again, she said.
Ms Thorn acknowledged that it was not unheard of for children to change as their bodies develop and she may have suffered from the condition at some point.
Dr Peter Koltai, who also treated Tilly, admitted that it was a “pretty strange case” but stressed that it should not be generalised.
He did not blame the British doctors for not making the same discovery, but admitted that “if a team effort had been put together they could have come to the same conclusion“.
Specialists have contacted Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, asking doctors to monitor Tilly. They will also need to remove the small valve on her stomach, used for more than seven years as the portal for her food supply. The family flies home on Saturday.
