Presenting the reality of gastric surgery
After suffering from eating disorders since childhood, Claireabelle Burt will share every step of her gastric surgery with 23,000 Instagram followers. Alice Geary reports.
When it comes to weight loss tips, Claireabelle Burt has seen, and shared, it all.
The Timaru woman’s dysfunctional relationship with food began when she was bullied in primary school.
Her raw honesty and openness in sharing her experiences of yoyo-ing weight and eating disorders has earned her a legion of fans on
Instagram.
And after more than a decade of drastic weight loss and gain, Burt is about to have gastric sleeve surgery and hopes to use her social media platform to show the real side of surgery.
‘‘It’s a massive surgery, they are cutting out more than three quarters of your stomach and you never ever get to eat like a normal person again. I want to show people that surgery isn’t the easy way out, it’s going to be hard but it’s going to be worth it for my health in the end.’’
In 2014, Burt was diagnosed with bulimia (extreme overeating followed by fasting or self-induced vomiting or purging). During an abusive relationship it developed into the lesser known binge eating disorder, or BED.
Last year, Burt lost 38 kilograms and experienced what it was like to be able to walk down the street without getting out of breath, to wash herself and be pain-free.
But a relapse took all that away from her and six months later she had gained 44kg.
At the time of her BED diagnosis in 2018, Burt weighed 148kg. It was then she decided to start her social media account to document her journey and raise awareness of the disorder.
Having made the difficult decision to pursue surgery, she will continue to be ‘‘raw and real’’ on the platform to show the reality of this ‘‘life-changing’’ decision.
During gastric sleeve surgery, surgeons remove part of the stomach and create a ‘‘sleeve’’ about a 20 per cent of the size of the original stomach, including part of the stomach which produces the hunger hormone ghrelin.
This means the patient’s hunger cues change, they feel full more quickly and can expect to lose 60 to 70 per cent of excess weight in the first year. The surgery is non-reversible and carries additional risks including leaks, bleeds and infections.
Burt ‘‘broke down in tears’’ when she received the acceptance call for her long sought-after insurance, which, together with her KiwiSaver, will help pay the $21,700 bill.
‘‘It’s like a release, knowing that I’m not going to have to fight any more because it gets mentally and physically tiring to fight your brain constantly,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s going to be amazing to be able to lose this weight and know
crowded homes. And about a third were in severely crowded homes.
About half were in Auckland, and the highest rates were in South Auckland.
Goldsworthy also found that the number of people living in a home in Ma¯ ngere and O¯ ta¯ huhu was double the Auckland average. ‘‘And it’s not just four people – it’s 10 people. So it means there’s more chance of a fire happening and less chance of managing behaviour, like kids playing with matches and cooking.’’
Part of Goldsworthy’s role is to engage with the community, and like Watson, she also investigates fires. Counties Manukau had its unique cultural challenges.
People were burning candles in a religious context.
‘‘So instead of telling people you can’t have candles, it’s about teaching them how to do it safely.’’
New builds – multilevel state homes – were also a new challenge.
Between July 2013 and June 2018, 165 state houses were demolished due to fire damage, including 57 in Auckland, according to Housing New Zealand.
Among the most important safety messages, Goldsworthy and Watson reiterated the importance of having working smoke alarms in every room where people slept, having an escape plan, and calling Fire and Emergency no matter how small the fire.
Watson estimated there were no working smoke alarms at 80 per cent of fatal house fires they attended.
‘‘And we’d also like to tell people not be afraid to call the fire service. In Counties Manukau there are a few refugee communities that aren’t sure whether it’s a free service. Even if it’s a small fire, it doesn’t matter, the [fire] guys would rather everyone is safe, it’s never a waste of our time.’’