14 DAY TRIAL // Laura Ripley is 25 years old and lives in the UK. In 2008, she was given an £8,000 operation on the NHS, helping her lose 16 stone (over 100 kg). Thanks to it, not only is she now much slimmer, having gone down from 38 stone (over 240 kg) to 22 stone (139 kg), but, what’s more important, she is alive, since her condition had gotten so bad doctors actually feared for her life. However, this is not enough for Miss Ripley, who is now complaining that, because of the operation, she has had her disability benefits reduced, as the Daily Mail reports.
What bothers Ripley the most, as she tells the publication, is that she is now receiving less money in benefits because of the operation. Since she’s slimmer now, she gets £340 less from the state and she can’t afford to eat healthy, which means she has already begun to pile on the pounds, which could actually bring her back to where she started before she had the op. It’s a vicious circle she has been thrown in that she can’t break, Ripley claims. To add insult to injury, she’s being treated unfairly by the state because all she wants is nothing more than an extra £100 that would help her cover her expenses.
“Without my disability allowance I’m left with just £210 incapacity benefit which I get because of my depression, and £100 income support I receive every two weeks and out of that I have to give them back £70 towards the cost of the £500-a-month flat I’m living in.” Ripley tells the Mail. Less money means less to spend on healthy food, therefore she continues snacking on the same things that she used to eat before having the operation. In just a few weeks, she has already gained some extra pounds, the woman states, and she can tell this is just the beginning.
Laura Ripley has never worked in her life and spends most of her days in front of the television, the Mail informs. The money she’s no longer receiving (the £340) used to go on gym subscriptions, healthy food and having her hair highlighted, Ripley candidly admits for the publication. What’s more, now that she’s slimmer and fit for work, she’s taking things slowly again, not looking for a job because she’s about to have another surgery, also on the NHS. Otherwise costing her £12,000, Ripley will go under the knife once more to remove the saggy skin left after the massive weight loss prompted by having her stomach shrunk by 75 percent.
Still, Ripley claims she’s not being treated fairly. “I can’t afford to buy WeightWatchers crisps and cereal bars any more so I eat Tesco’s chocolate bars and packets of Space Invaders crisps, sometimes four of each a day. People ask why I don’t snack on an apple – they’re cheap, but emotionally I don’t always feel like an apple. I sometimes feel guilty about all the taxpayers’ money that’s been spent on me but I only want an extra £100 a month, that’s all.” Ripley says for the Mail.