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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...gers-stomach-18th-birthday.html#ixzz2AT9uesSL
A hush descended on the table as a barman placed a shot glass in front of Gaby Scanlon to round off what had been a memorable 18th birthday meal with 13 friends.
With a flourish, he poured liquid nitrogen from the metal canister keeping it at the almost unimaginably cold minus 196c into her glass.
Then came a small measure of Jagermeister, a German herb liqueur, which reacted with the nitrogen, creating impressive swirls of smoke-like vapour.
After a perfect evening, during which Gaby had drunk just one beer with her meal, it seemed a rather glamorous finale to her coming-of-age celebrations at Oscar’s trendy wine bar and bistro in Lancaster.
Gaby swallowed the drink — as did three of her friends. She didn’t particularly like the aniseed taste but when a barman offered her another on the house as a birthday treat, she politely accepted. The consequences were almost fatal.
Gaby’s is a story that will alarm parents everywhere. Two drinks at a remarkably tame birthday celebration completely destroyed her stomach, leaving her to face emergency surgery and a lifetime of health problems. In her first interview, Gaby recalls the night she almost died.
‘It was all very theatrical and exciting as alcohol hit the liquid nitrogen and steam rose off the glass,’ says Gaby, an A-level student at the city’s Ripley St Thomas Academy. ‘One of my friends asked the barman how it was done and he explained.
‘It seemed like fun, so we said: “OK, we’ll have one.” Then, because it was my 18th birthday, the barman said: “Have another one on the house.” The minute the second one hit my stomach I felt excruciating pain.
‘I’d been warned by the barman the drink might make me a bit gassy, so I didn’t think too much of it, but then my stomach started to expand and I felt sick.
‘Soon I was doubled up with pain. People were asking me if I was all right, but I couldn’t say anything because my stomach hurt so much.
‘Everyone went into a panic. I couldn’t talk, I could barely walk and everything was just a blur of pain. I was so frightened. I knew the drink must have caused it.’
Had Gaby’s friends not insisted on driving her straight to Lancaster Royal Infirmary, she would not be alive today.
When she arrived in casualty at around 10pm on Thursday, October 4, she had to be taken in on a wheelchair. She was rushed into surgery after a CT scan revealed a large perforation in her stomach.
It was only during the four-hour operation, however, that surgeons realised the devastating extent of the damage.
Not only had the extremely low temperature of the liquid nitrogen burned a hole in her stomach — its effects are similar to frostbite — the chemical had completely destroyed the stomach lining.
Her whole stomach had to be removed, so surgeons connected Gaby’s oesophagus, the tube which takes food from the mouth to stomach, directly to her small bowel.
A hush descended on the table as a barman placed a shot glass in front of Gaby Scanlon to round off what had been a memorable 18th birthday meal with 13 friends.
With a flourish, he poured liquid nitrogen from the metal canister keeping it at the almost unimaginably cold minus 196c into her glass.
Then came a small measure of Jagermeister, a German herb liqueur, which reacted with the nitrogen, creating impressive swirls of smoke-like vapour.
After a perfect evening, during which Gaby had drunk just one beer with her meal, it seemed a rather glamorous finale to her coming-of-age celebrations at Oscar’s trendy wine bar and bistro in Lancaster.
Gaby swallowed the drink — as did three of her friends. She didn’t particularly like the aniseed taste but when a barman offered her another on the house as a birthday treat, she politely accepted. The consequences were almost fatal.
Gaby’s is a story that will alarm parents everywhere. Two drinks at a remarkably tame birthday celebration completely destroyed her stomach, leaving her to face emergency surgery and a lifetime of health problems. In her first interview, Gaby recalls the night she almost died.
‘It was all very theatrical and exciting as alcohol hit the liquid nitrogen and steam rose off the glass,’ says Gaby, an A-level student at the city’s Ripley St Thomas Academy. ‘One of my friends asked the barman how it was done and he explained.
‘It seemed like fun, so we said: “OK, we’ll have one.” Then, because it was my 18th birthday, the barman said: “Have another one on the house.” The minute the second one hit my stomach I felt excruciating pain.
‘I’d been warned by the barman the drink might make me a bit gassy, so I didn’t think too much of it, but then my stomach started to expand and I felt sick.
‘Soon I was doubled up with pain. People were asking me if I was all right, but I couldn’t say anything because my stomach hurt so much.
‘Everyone went into a panic. I couldn’t talk, I could barely walk and everything was just a blur of pain. I was so frightened. I knew the drink must have caused it.’
Had Gaby’s friends not insisted on driving her straight to Lancaster Royal Infirmary, she would not be alive today.
When she arrived in casualty at around 10pm on Thursday, October 4, she had to be taken in on a wheelchair. She was rushed into surgery after a CT scan revealed a large perforation in her stomach.
It was only during the four-hour operation, however, that surgeons realised the devastating extent of the damage.
Not only had the extremely low temperature of the liquid nitrogen burned a hole in her stomach — its effects are similar to frostbite — the chemical had completely destroyed the stomach lining.
Her whole stomach had to be removed, so surgeons connected Gaby’s oesophagus, the tube which takes food from the mouth to stomach, directly to her small bowel.

