A young woman who is frightened of Christmas dinner has revealed she will spend Christmas Day without festive food. Macy Williams, 19, suffers from a rare condition called Arfid which means she has a phobia of certain foods. Up to the age of 17, she ate only cucumber, blended porridge and plant-based custard.
At Christmas, she would allow herself only a small portion of stuffing and gravy whilst her family tucked into a traditional dinner in another room. But since summer 2023, Macy has been fed purely by tube. She spent last Christmas Day in hospital. Macy, from Wrexham, is supported by her mum, Terri, 45, and sister, Gabby, 29. She writes a blog offering help and advice to others affected by Arfid – and hopes treatment programmes will be developed and made available. Macy says: "Nobody would choose to live like this, aways from their family and away from normal life.
"At Christmas, my family come to visit me, but there will be no chocolates, no prosecco, no Christmas fayre. When my family eat, I just go into a different room. I can’t bear it." Her mum, Terri, believes the problems began when Macy was just a baby,.
Mum of five, Terri, says: "When she was weaned, she would vomit the baby food back. She only ate yoghurt and puddings, but I thought it was a phase. Instead, it got worse. She would only certain foods and she couldn’t have them all on the same plate. She only ate specific brands too – if I tried a cheaper brand, she would know immediately. Her food had to be prepared separately and stored in a different cupboard.
