A 36-year-old mother who initially thought “off” milk on her cereal was making her sick has been diagnosed with a condition that has caused her stomach to stop working properly — and doctors say she now has about a year to live.
Emilie Cullum began vomiting shortly after eating breakfast in November 2024 and assumed it was due to expired milk. But when the vomiting continued for 10 days, the mom-of-three from St Albans, Hertfordshire, went to the emergency room. Doctors first suspected Crohn’s disease, but further tests revealed the true issue: gastroparesis, a chronic condition where her stomach is partially paralyzed and food doesn’t move through normally.
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By the end of summer 2025, the 5ft clinic owner had dropped dramatically from 8st 5lb to just 4st 8lb. She is now under palliative care with the NHS as she struggles to gain weight despite medical support. Emilie continues working to provide for her family while a friend has launched a fundraiser for private treatment that could allow her to spend more precious time at home with her children.
“The thought of having to leave my children is horrific, it’s unthinkable,” Emilie said. She recalled eating breakfast and becoming violently ill, initially blaming the milk before realizing something more serious was happening. “I didn’t feel ill, no temperature or anything like that.”
After seeing a specialist, she received the diagnosis. “He said your stomach is completely broken and nothing is going through.” At first, she hoped for a straightforward fix, but her weight continued to plummet, leading to hospital scans that highlighted the severity.
Emilie had a permanent feeding tube fitted in her bowel last summer and managed to gain 14lbs, but progress has stalled. She is currently at 5st 4lb and needs to reach 6st 9lb for a specialized home-based treatment called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), which delivers nutrients directly into the bloodstream. NHS treatment would require extended hospital stays away from her family.
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Emilie, married to 41-year-old golf instructor Kyle Cullum, shared how the condition has affected their lives. “We’re not less in love but it definitely changes your relationship. The children are growing up and we thought we were going to have all these years… I don’t want to go into hospital knowing that I don’t have that much time left and not spending it with my family.”
She has spent much of the past year in hospital wards, describing it as mentally challenging. The family is raising funds for private care at home so she can focus on making memories with her loved ones during this difficult time.