An English woman has ‘eaten herself to death’, after her rare eating disorder was left unmanaged.
Kirsty Derry, 23, suffered from a rare genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Sydrome which causes uncontrollable and insatiable hunger.
Just days before her untimely death. Kirsty had posted a message on her Facebook page, giving a heartbreaking insight into her battle with food.
“Yummy! yummy ! yummy! fillet steak new potatoes and salad I had for tea tonight,” she wrote, as her body began to shut down due to her extreme obesity.
Derry, who was diagnosed with Prader-Willi when she was young, was committed to an assisted living home, Victoria Mews, in 2012, in order to help treat her dangerous condition.
It was this assisted living home, her mother claims, contributed to her daughter’s tragic death.
Her mother, Julie Fallows, revealed in the inquest into her daughter’s death that she had sent her to Victoria Mews so that her meals and eating could be better controlled. But despite The Mews’ label as an ‘assisted living’ facility, Fallows alleged that they withdrew Kirsty’s supervision and security measures.
“When she first arrived, there were alarms fitted to the cupboards and fridge. But at some point that technology was removed without our knowledge,” said Fallows, “Often we couldn’t find any staff when we visited.”
“I became aware Kirsty had no idea of portion sizes but I thought her cooking was regulated. But in 2013 her changes in weight were obvious. Her legs were swollen, she could hardly walk or get shoes on her feet. I expressed my concerns.”
“I felt Kirsty should have been removed from Victoria Mews immediately. But nothing was done right up until her death,” she continued, “Kirsty was deemed mentally capable of making her own choices but how can that be if she could eat herself to death? Social workers handed her a death sentence by suggesting Kirsty go to Victoria Mews.”
However, the social worker in charge of Kirsty’s care, Zoe Marshall, told the same inquest that the alarms and sirens on the cupboards and fridge in Kirsty’s apartment were removed because they ‘annoyed her’, and that she refused to be admitted to hospital because she did not believe she was sick.
This sentiment was echoed in a Facebook post that Kirsty made to a Prader-Willi support group, where she commented that she didn’t need 24/7 care.
“My life is so miserable. Fed up of people in my face all the time when I don’t need this amount of care. I am quite capable, staff just need to understand me and listen to me and get to know me a little better,” wrote Kirsty, “I cannot cooperate when I am in a mood, they need to understand to let me calm down.”
“I just want to move to a different place, I don’t feel it’s right for me, just feel like I want to come home.”
The coroner’s report revealed that Kirsty died of complications following pulmonary oedema, a build-up fluid in her lungs.
At the time of her death, Kirsty had a body mass index of 42.1, more than double the healthy standard of 20.
