Hunger strike protest by Thalidomide victim

A solid food protest to help Thalidomide victims is proving a dangerous challenge... but brave Aigburth sufferer Gary Skyner is determined to make his hunger strike have an impact.

Gary, 49, stopped eating on September 21st to hopefully shame the government into action on Thalidomide health care and he has lost over one and a half stone since.

His mother Frances Skyner, 73 and also from Aigburth, went on hunger strike over two weeks ago but has been forced to eat through deteriorating health.

Into his 19th day of coffee and fruit supplement ‘monavie’, Gary thinks the week ahead will be tough. He said: “Nothing solid has passed my lips for over 18 days. I’m getting blinding headaches because I am drinking coffee and there is nothing in there to absorb it.”

Pensioner Frances suffered heart palpitations because she refused to take her medication whilst on strike and was said to be in agony when she ceased her protest.

Despite having a heart defect himself, Gary is still persisting with his plight to make the government address the issue of funding for Thalidomiders and their families.

The Thalidomide drug was prescribed to pregnant women as a remedy for morning sickness in the 50s and 60s and caused thousands of children to be born badly deformed and severely disabled. The hunger strike is an attempt by Gary and his mother to compel the government to release millions of pounds into the decreasing Thalidomide Trust fund, which helps to care for those affected.

Currently, the company who supplied the drug, Diageo, contribute £8.5m to the fund each year and Gary is pressing for the government to do the same. Gary, who has no thumbs, wrists or elbows, is given £18,000 a year by the Thalidomide Trust. He gigs as a comedian whilst his wife, Shelagh, is his full time carer. He said: “Would you take that job? For £18,000 a year, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, no time off. She’s got that to do. I can’t operate without her, what happens if she drops dead tomorrow? My world just falls in.”

The ongoing protest has roused interest nationally, with Gary appearing on GMTV with Ricky Tomlinson to raise awareness of the troubles faced by surviving victims. He said: “They’ve made a mistake; they said that Thalidomide was safe to take for mother and baby. I’m living proof that it wasn’t.”

Gary has developed blisters on his hands and in his mouth through malnutrition and is currently losing a pound of weight each day. He said: ”Another week and I’ll probably be on my knees with it. I’m tired and I’m run down. In a week’s time I’m really going to be feeling it.”

Still, Gary doesn’t realistically believe that the government will surrender the money he is hoping for, yet he refuses to give up the battle just yet. He said: “If they will send people to war without the right equipment, what chance do I stand?” As his hunger continues, and now without his mother joining him in the food strike, Gary said: “Would I ever enter into anything like this again? Never.”