A dad-of-four has been told he needs a liver transplant - after the Covid lockdowns turned him to drink.
Stephen Allcock sought solace in bottles of wine and whisky after seeing his transport business closed down by Covid, suffering family issues, and losing his best mate in an M6 crash.
The 57-year-old progressed from drinking three bottles of wine a night to up to a bottle of whisky every day. It finally came to an end when Stephen was diagnosed with ascites and liver failure and told he needed the transplant.
Now Stephen has bravely spoken out after winning his fight and praising his care at the Royal Stoke University Hospital. He has to visit the Hartshill complex every fortnight to have his liver drained.
Stephen, from Fenton, said: “I had always been a social drinker. With the Covid lockdown, everything was curtailed and there was nothing happening at all.
“I went from having a good business to nothing overnight. I had a few issues in my family too and instead of doing the right thing and tackling the problem I just hit the bottle.
“My best mate of 50-odd years got killed in an accident on the M6. I had all this going on and it was one thing after another.
“I just switched off and thought that I had to get out of my head for a bit. I started out on wine and then it ended up switching into the stronger stuff like whisky and gin.
“I was drinking everyday. It was at night and for me it was a way of getting stuff out of my head. I was having a couple of bottles of wine on a daily basis. After a year I moved onto the stronger stuff.
“It started off as a couple of glasses of whisky a day but then it ended up with me looking at a bottle that was nearly empty. I was in a constant haze and never really completely sober - I knew I had a serious problem.
“I buried myself in a bottle and that was the wrong way to go about it. It was easier to have a drink and forget about everything.”
Stephen soon became ill after consuming the vast amounts of alcohol. He would take laxatives - assuming he was constipated - but to no avail.
The pain became unbearable and he got himself to the Royal Stoke University Hospital where he was diagnosed with the ascites and liver failure.
His condition means that due to his liver not functioning properly, his stomach fills with acidic fluid which he must get drained by medical professionals.
Stephen gets this procedure done every two weeks but admits it’s only a ‘short-term’ resolution.
Going forward he needs the liver transplant and is currently on a three to five year waiting list. He has not drank alcohol since he was diagnosed last year.
Stephen added: “I got very big, very quick. It got to the stage where I was in agony and in so much pain. It was unbelievable and something I don’t want anyone else to go through. It was terrible. I was trying laxatives and painkillers to try to relieve it but nothing was working. I couldn’t sleep or do anything.
“I was terrible and crying. I was begging for morphine, there was that much pain.
“On a scale of one to 100 - 100 being the best your liver could be - mine is on about 30. When you eat and drink things, because your liver is not functioning properly, the toxins and acids are going straight to my stomach - it’s like being full-term pregnant every two weeks.
“They won’t drain you until you are really big because of the chances of hitting a vital organ. I have to go every two weeks for the procedure."
