A woman has opened up about her life with a rare condition that leaves her vomiting up to 70 times per day.
Leanne Willan suffers from gastroparesis, a chronic long-term illness that causes food to pass through the stomach slower than usual, meaning it can't empty in the normal way.
As a result, the 39-year-old from Bolton is housebound due to constant sickness, nausea, pain and being unable to eat.
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The Manchester Evening News reports that after her diagnosis in 2008, Leanne was fitted with a gastric pacemaker which helped to ease the vomiting.
However, since its battery ran out two years ago, the mum-of-one is back to routinely throwing up, which is wreaking havoc on her life.
These batteries aren't the kind you can get in the supermarket - a replacement costs £10,000 and is not available on the NHS.
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Speaking to the publication, she said: "The worst part is that it took me away from my daughter and my family because I was always being sick and in pain.
"As a baby, I had a really bad reflux. I was always a sickly child. When I had my daughter at 22, it got progressively worse. It was horrible, it was draining.
"Before I got diagnosed, I was being sick all the time. Everything I drank just came back up. I couldn't keep it down.
"When it would stop working was always in the back of my mind."
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Leanne used to work as a carer, but hasn't been able to for two years, explaining that she hasn't been at home for a period of more than two weeks as she has to visit the hospital so frequently.
"I've been going downhill. It's affecting my life because I'm stuck in the house all day," she continued.
"I can't see my family or friends. I can't do what I used to enjoy or spend time with my husband and daughter because I'm going downhill.
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"When something like this happens to you, it doesn't just affect me. It affects my family, my friends, everyone around you.
"All they want to do is help. They've seen me at my worst and best and they want me to be back to how I was before I started declining. They just want me to get my life back basically.
"I can't understand how the NHS can deny paying for someone and rather tube feed them at a more expensive cost. And then there's the aftercare."
Leanne has now set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the new pacemaker battery - click here if you'd like to donate.
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Words: Daisy Phillipson
Featured Image Credit: Leanne Willan