SUFFERERS of the devastating "brain fluid leak" which drove TV presenter Michelle Watt to suicide are being thrown "on the scrap-heap", says a fellow patient.
David Baldwin said the NHS is failing those with the illness – and warned more will take their own lives.
Mr Baldwin, 35, said: “How many more people have to do this before doctors sit up and take notice? There are many people in the UK who are suffering who could be cured or significantly improved. But they are just being thrown on the scrap-heap.”
Ms Watt's father, boxing pundit Jim, 66, told how the 38-year-old could not bear chronic headaches after a lumbar puncture went wrong.
And Hollywood star George Clooney described how he contemplated suicide after damaging his head and spine while filming Syriana.
Mr Baldwin’s debilitating symptoms mean he cannot sit or stand for more than a few minutes at a time.
He has just returned to Strathpeffer, Ross-shire, after 10 weeks in Los Angeles where Clooney’s surgeon, Dr Wouter Schievink, performed two major spinal operations.
However surgery does not always cure cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks and Mr Baldwin’s condition has not improved. He may need further surgery.
The fluid leak causes the brain to slump against the skull, causing crippling headaches when the sufferer sits or stands, and making normal life impossible.
The brain can also pull on the nerves to the eyes, ears and elsewhere in the body, meaning the sufferer may not see or hear properly.
Mr Baldwin said: “It’s a desperate situation that has pushed some people to take the ultimate desperate measure because they feel they have no other option and the pain makes life unbearable."
Mr and Mrs Baldwin are setting up a charity offering advice and support to fellow sufferers and seeking to raise the profile and understanding of the condition within the medical profession.
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