Disabled mum with rare debilitating illness speaks out about 11-year wait to be moved to suitable house in Milton Keynes

Becky, 41, has Cyclical vomiting syndrome (CVS) and it causes her to have daily episodes of vomiting where is is sick up to 40 times in just one hour.

She has been on a liquid-only diet for the past five years and has a tube permanently in her chest for anti-sickness drugs to be administered.

The condition is made worse by stress, and doctors have written to MK Council saying the stress of sharing a one-bedroom Conniburrow flat with her young daughter is making Becky worse.

Police have backed up the request as she has suffered abuse and anti-social behaviour. To top it all, her front door does not close properly and council workers have admitted it is not a fire door, causing Becky to live in fear of a break-in or fire.

But far from moving her, MK Council housing officials recently downgraded her from the top priority Band A to low priority Band C.

"I don't understand why they won't help me and why I've been downgraded. You can't get many more horrible illnesses that CVS."

Becky's episodes happen mainly at night and she can be awake for hours. Sometimes, if the vomiting won't stop, she will lose consciousness. Frequently she is so ill that her mum has to come and help.

"There's only a one bedroom so I have to sleep in the same room as my daughter. Obviously I'm worried that I'll disturb her sleep and she'll be tired at school. So I move out into the living room."

Here though, the room is crammed with the medical equipment Becky needs. Nurses come every 72 hours to change the tube and Becky is also on morphine to control the pain.

"When my mum has to care for me, there's three people plus mountains of medical aids, all crammed into a one bed flat," she said.

She has suffered from CVS since childhood and at times the hospital admissions average once a month. The condition has also caused Becky's weight to plummet from 20 stone to a size 6 - at almost 6ft tall.

Yet, despite her illness, she manages to work part time as a carer, looking after disabled adults.

Becky has been a council tenant since 1999. She moved to her current flat in 2009 but within two years her GP wrote to the council saying she needed an urgent move bigger property on medical grounds. These GP letters were repeated several times over the years.

Between 2013 and 2015 Becky was offered two properties, but had to refuse them as they were too far away from her care team.

"Because my condition can be so serious, I need to be within three miles of my GP and my team of nurses," she said.

Between times, Becky has found three people willing to do a private home exchange. However, the council has turned them down each time, she said.

The Citizen contact MK Council and aspokesman said the matter would be looked into.

“We will replace the front door as soon as possible and will reach out to the tenant to discuss their options.”