Emily Brown
A woman with a genetic condition which has left her stomach 'paralyzed' has explained how she survives when she can't eat or drink.
TikTok user Sarah lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS); a genetic condition which affects all of the connective tissues in her body.
Sarah lives with chronic pain, joint dislocations, chronic fatigue and a 'whole host of digestive issues', but she makes it clear on social media that she's 'bossing life'.
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The TikToker regularly shares insight to life with her condition, including details about how she survives while living with intestinal failure, which is a result of her EDS.
"In a nutshell, my digestive system is paralyzed, so I can't eat food" Sarah explains.
"If I eat, I basically throw it back up, I'm in excruciating pain and sometimes it even causes a seizure."
Obviously humans need nutrients to survive, though, so Sarah gets hers through what's called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN).
"It basically means I get fed through my heart," she said.
The TikToker demonstrated how she gets the nutrition, inserting the liquid into a tube which goes into her skin and into her heart, allowing her to be fed straight into her bloodstream.
She has to keep everything sterile at all times, or risk getting sepsis.
Offering more insight on the process, Sarah said: "I can't feel when anything is going into my bloodstream through my line, but I can sometimes feel if it's a little bit cold because it makes my heart flutter."
The TikToker showed how she connects herself to the nutrition in the evening, ready for it to run for 12 hours before she can disconnect and carry on with her day.
She also has a backpack which she can put the bag in, to make sure she stays hydrated throughout the day.
Sarah has been questioned a lot about the process, and one of the most common questions she gets is whether she's still hungry after TPN.
"The answer is no, because I'm getting all of my calories and my blood sugar stays stable, so I don't really get hungry" she explained.
However, Sarah did say that her stomach still 'rumbles'.
A lot of people would struggle to imagine a life without food, but Sarah doesn't miss eating due to the fact that she doesn't have a 'great relationship' with food.
For as long as she's been alive, Sarah has experienced pain and vomiting after eating food, so she said it's a 'blessing' to be able to have TPN.
Earlier this month, Sarah set up a GoFundMe page to help her pay for an electric wheelchair which will help her deal with the pain in her legs and go out on trips unaided.