Achalasia is a medical condition many of us have never even heard of but 34 year old Linda Wade knows it well. That is because she has been battling it for nearly 10 years. Yesterday that fight ended when she underwent surgery that was performed for the first time in Belize at the Healthcare Partners Hospital. We’ll take you into the operating room but our story begins where Linda Wade’s journey began.
Keith Swift Reporting,
As tempting as it looks, and as tempted as she is, Linda Wade won’t eat this plate of food. And that is because if she eats it….
Linda Wade, Has Achalasia
“Three minutes after I start vomiting everything.”
Linda Wade first began vomiting after eating in 1999. She thought it was just gas pain but then it got worse and it consumed her life.
Linda Wade,
“I thought I just had gas pain, not knowing it was a serious sickness. I got frustrated, angry with my kids. We wanted to go have food out there and I can’t sit and eat with them in restaurants because I have to get up and throw up. It was really discouraging. One spell I wanted to give up in life because I didn’t know what was the problem.”
Keith Swift,
What was your energy level like?
Linda Wade,
“I used to catch blackout, feel dizzy, and I just had to sit down. I couldn’t work and that is one of the reason I got discouraged because I couldn’t work and I didn’t have the energy. It was easy to get tired. I lost a lot weight. I used to have 250 pounds and with this sickness I went to 100 pounds. I really looked terrible. People thought I had Aids.”
But Linda Wade didn’t and doesn’t have Aids. She has what’s called Achalasia. It is a rare and serious
condition, but treatable. Gastroenterologist Dr. Ervin Gabourel made the diagnosis in 2004.
Dr. Ervin Gabourel, Gastroenterologist
“Linda was first brought to my attention in 2004. She was sent to me by a colleague who saw her at the KHMH with vomiting, persistent vomiting and weight loss. From the history that she gave me, we knew that she was suffering from Achalasia, the condition I just described to you.
The esophagus is the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach and you have a muscle that controls the entry of food into your mouth and another muscle that controls the entry into your stomach. So whenever you have any one of these muscles malfunctioning then you can have a lot of repercussions. For example, in Linda’s case her lower muscle, the one that connects to the stomach, wasn’t working properly – it was in spastic – it was hard – it couldn’t open. So whatever she drink or whatever she ate wasn’t going anywhere.
Food was just sitting in esophagus for hours and initially it was for minutes but as time progressed and the esophagus got wider it gave more time for the food to stay in there and as a result she would sometimes vomit food that she ate maybe the previous day.”
Dr. Gabourel performed an endoscopy – which usually solves the problem.
Dr. Ervin Gabourel,
“We did dilatations which is basically putting in a plastic tube to open up that muscle, to tear the fibers in that muscle so that she could eat.”
Linda Wade,
“That Gabourel helped me by stretching the stomach, tearing it apart, so that I could eat a little and like three months after it came back again.”
Dr. Ervin Gabourel,
“We offered her endoscopic treatment but that wasn’t solving the problem. I have had some patients who we dilate once, that is putting in the plastic tubing to stretch the muscle, and with one dilatation it solves the problem but Linda is a peculiar case because she hasn’t resolved any at all and she has been up and down, losing weight, gaining weight, and losing weight.”
Dr. Gabourel concluded that Linda Wade needed surgery to manually – or surgically if you will - open her oesophagus. It’s never been performed
in Belize –that is until today. Dr. Venny, a surgeon and also the CEO at the Healthcare Partners Hospital, offered to do the surgery for free.
Linda spent the moments before surgery with her family. She was emotional- short on words but high on hope – after all today’s procedure could end 10 long years of suffering.
Linda Wade,
“I feel nervous but God is with me and I am praying very hard that everything comes out successful.”
Keith Swift,
What are you worried about the most?
Linda Wade,
“I am worried about the pain I will be going through when I get up.”
Keith Swift,
What is the best thing about today for you?
Linda Wade,
“Happy to know I will get back a normal life again.”
How will the surgery go? Tune in tomorrow night as seven news takes you inside the operating theatre. We’ll also dig deeper into the disease with information on what are the symptoms and what you can do to prevent it. The surgery cost about $7,000 but was performed for free by Healthcare Partners.
