WHY ME? ..asks boy who vomits every five minutes
Rare illness means Josh now has to be taken to hospital every six weeks
A 13-YEAR-OLD boy suffers from an illness which makes him violently sick every five minutes.
Josh Wright sometimes cannot speak after being hit by a two-day-long bout of vomiting.
His mum, Julie, was convinced the illness was more than a sick bug after Josh was first hospitalised aged one.
The toddler was vomiting constantly and couldn’t keep fluids down but medics could find nothing wrong and Josh was back to normal in the morning.
Over the next four years, his episodes of sickness continued and Julie, from Portobello, Edinburgh, began to keep a log. She discovered he was being sick every 12 weeks, and would start vomiting during the night and be sick every five minutes until morning.
Julie said: “We kept getting told it was just a bug. Finally, desperate, I searched Google which suggested Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). It was like the sun coming up. We were referred to the Sick Kids where Josh underwent countless tests and they finally confirmed the CVS diagnosis.
“It was great having a name for Josh’s condition but we were then told there is no cure. It was devastating. Josh has tried lots of different medicines but nothing works.
“We are now in hospital every six weeks. It feels never-ending. Once Josh’s episode starts he is taken into hospital for IV fluids and anti-sick medication.
“During his episode, he has excess saliva
and often can’t talk for up to two days. It gets to the point where he is vomiting blood. “He often asks, ‘Why me? Why do I have this and other kids don’t?’ I can see it in his eyes and it just breaks my heart.” Julie said: “The future is uncertain for Josh. We worry what kind of job will he be able to get that allows for as much time off as he may need. “As he has grown up in the hospital, he really wants to be a surgeon but will he be able to achieve his ambition when he only attends school for 75 per cent of the year?” Josh and his family are sharing their story as part of Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s Never Alone appeal, which is raising funds to help children living with rare and long-term conditions to have a positive hospital journey. To donate, visit www. echcharity.org/donate