Imagine if you were constantly sick, but a single operation could cure you.

James suffers from pilonidal disease. There is a pocket in their skin right under their tailbone that was first caused by a ingrown hair. This pocket is constantly infected with bacteria, and as the infection worsens it causes a fever and presses painfully on the nerves in their tailbone.

Avoiding infection isn’t possible — it isn’t a hygiene issue. James washes daily and also bathes in saltwater. The hair and dead skin trapped deep in the pocket provide a haven for normally harmless bacteria that only surgery can remove.

When the infection is mild they struggle to sleep at night, suffering night sweats and fatigue, twitching legs, and constant trips to the bathroom. When the infection is bad they’re bedridden with nausea and exhaustion, unable to even sit down comfortably.

Worse, James suffers from crippling ADHD — and their medication to let them live a normal life doesn’t work when they’re sick. Self-employed, they’ve lost thousands of work hours thanks to this condition, putting a real financial strain on their life. Their mental health has suffered tremendously.

In the past year, they have taken thirteen courses of antibiotics — clarithromycin, doxycycline, and erythromycin. They waited several months to see the consultant surgeon on the NHS, and the surgeon agreed that a simple surgery will likely cure them… but NHS wait times mean that James has been stuck in limbo for six months since that meeting, with no word of when they’ll be seen.

James is facing homelessness if this doesn’t get sorted.

The cost of private surgery to remove the pocket and cure the disease is around £6500. Please give what you can to end this nightmare.

What if the NHS finally comes through with surgery before private surgery can happen?

The current wait times make this very unlikely.

In the event that it happens, then so long as it is reasonably feasible, all donations will be refunded. If it isn’t feasible to refund donations, then they’ll be put toward any costs associated with recovery from surgery, with the remainder donated to charities tackling homelessness in Scotland.

Is it possible to keep waiting on antibiotics?

Not any longer: the disruption to James’ work life has reached a critical point, and their savings are nearly spent.