Help a Birmingham dad 'get his life back' after a decade of suffering

Locals in Birmingham are rallying together to raise money for a Sheldon dad to get a life-changing operation.

Ashley Vickers, 42 from Sheldon has been living with gastroparesis for ten years and it has deeply impacted on his quality of life.

Ashley is a father-of-three, and two of the children have severe learning disabilities.

The NHS describe gastroparesis as a chronic condition where ‘food passes through the stomach slower than it should’.

For Ashley, this has meant a decade of experiencing a feeding tube, as well as severe nausea and vomiting.

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His sister, Carly Ward, has organised a GoFundMe page called ‘Help Ashley get his life back I’ll be there for his family’ and hopes to raise enough money for her brother to get a specialist operation that could completely transform his life.

The target for this operation is £20,500 as it is only available privately, would mean the world of difference for the family.

Carly told the Express & Star: “From when he was five years old, Ashley has had diabetes. As he’s gotten older, he has had a lot of muscle failure. His stomach muscles have failed and that’s what’s led to the gastroparesis.

“It’s been ten years now and he’s had feeding tubes fitted in, he’s had feeding tubes through his heart fitted and they’ve all failed.

“The last time he had one in his heart, and he ended up getting sepsis so they had to remove it.”