[Mrluvaluva]

Binge-drinker Natasha Farnham is the youngest person in Britain to be diagnosed with liver failure – at the age of 14.

The pretty hell-raiser started drinking at 12 and was downing up to six bottles of wine a day by the age of 13.

And she was rushed to hospital after drinking cider, spirits and 16 BOTTLES of wine in a three-day bender.

Shocked doctors diagnosed liver failure – usually found in middle-aged alcoholics – and warned her to stop drinking. But she carried on and, now aged 18, is in rehab.

Natasha already suffers permanent memory loss problems and doctors have warned her she will die if she drinks again.

She has now decided to speak out to warn other teenagers of the danger of alcohol abuse. She said: “I am finally taking the advice of the doctors, perhaps because I’m now old enough to realise how stupid I’ve been. I would just tell kids: ‘Don’t end up like me.’

“At 13 years old, I hit my lowest point. I’d drink up to three litres (four bottles) of wine a day, followed by two bottles of Lambrini and perhaps a litre of vodka.

“I was too young to understand what an alcoholic was, let alone understand that I was one.

“I didn’t think my drinking was a problem because my friends were getting wasted every weekend as well.

“But now I have no short-term memory and doctors warn me if I drink any more I will die.”

Natasha became an “alcoholic drop-out” as she drank four times a week and skived off school.

She added: “My mum didn’t know because I would pretend I was staying at a friend’s house.

“I would save my dinner money to spend on booze. It was never hard to get our hands on alcohol, it was the easiest part. The hardest part was paying for it.”

Natasha, of Twerton in Bath, Somerset, began stealing from her mum Michelle, 40, and slipped into a life of petty crime. She has four drunk and disorderly convictions, two for public order offences and a caution for assaulting a police officer.

Last week she admitted burglary at Bristol Crown Court and was given a two-year community order and a six-month curfew.

She was diagnosed with liver failure when she was rushed to hospital on New Year’s Day, 2004, after downing four boxes of wine – the same as 16 bottles – as well as cider and spirits.

Natasha continued to drink while taking tablets daily for her liver, but is now working with doctors to beat her addiction.

She has been attending a rehab programme for two months.

Mum Michelle added: “When Natasha started drinking it was at the time alcopops were being advertised to attract children.”

A spokeman for the charity British Liver Failure said: “She is very lucky to be alive.

“I am sure this is the youngest person in the UK to suffer from liver failure as a result of excessive drinking.”


Source

I wondered what younger members thought about this and do people drink responsibly?

[Shaun]

Bloody hell, that's awful.

[Stu]

I hate when arguments like this are brought up to tempt young people not to drink. Its not as if the rest of us are going to go downing three litres of wine a day.

[Mrluvaluva]

Originally posted by Morpheus
I hate when arguments like this are brought up to tempt young people not to drink. Its not as if the rest of us are going to go downing three litres of wine a day.

I like a drink, but I just could not do 3 litres of wine in a day!

[GiRTh]

Three litres of wine? Jeeez, that would kill anybody.