chapter 35, series 4, episode 8 - quarterfinal free from week

Quarter final week featured bakes that were free of something, e.g. Gluten free, dairy free. In the signature bake, they had to bake a loaf that did not use traditional wheat flours. Instead they must use flours such as spelt, rye, potato or tapioca. The technical was a hazelnut daquoise, which consisted of 3 layers: coiled meringue, coffee custard and a hazelnut praline top. For the showstopper, the bakers had to make a novelty dairy free vegetable cake.
Amy joined in the fun! She made a pesto and ham spelt loaf, a multi seeded loaf, and a potato focaccia. She made half a dozen hazelnut dacquoise, carrot cake, spiced squash cake and a beetroot and chocolate cake. Of course, she had a little taste of everything, but everything else was for Robert.
That was where the dairy free side ended. Robert could not go dairy free, there was too many excessive calories in it. All the cream, all the butter and all the cheese would have had to go. No! He could not contemplate life without cheese and butter and cream. Nor could he do without sugar, it was unfair even to ask. Honey was not a suitable substitute.
Jason decided it was time to pay Robert another visit. He waited until evening and this time he brought along a friend, who they would conveniently forget about, the minute she left the premises.
Jason called the woman Sunshine. Why she was called such a name was beyond Amy. She was the least sunshiny person she had ever met. She looked stern and grumpy. She had weird hippie clothes and sandals, even though it was November, cold and wet outside.
She was there for Robert. She had brought a big bag of equipment with her. Quickly and efficiently, she set it up next to him. She waited until he had finished eating. His belly was tight and rounded as it often was at this time of night. He moaned with the pain and held onto it as if it was going to fall off his lap if he left go. His eyes rolled in pleasure. This was what it was all about. This feeling was addictive and this feeling was what had pushed him on to gain more weight.
Sunshine had no time for niceties. She pushed a big glass of Coke in his hand, lubricated a narrow tube she had in her hand and inserted it into his left nostril. When it tickled the back of his throat, she made him drink the Coke. As he swallowed, she advanced the tube even further until she was left with the premeasured amount of tube left. She had determined that it should now be in his stomach. She secured the tube with a clip and tape around his nose, then removed the guidewire that kept it stiff for insertion. Left in place now was a soft, flexible nasogastric tube, of the medical type. She tested it was in the correct place by drawing back a little on the tube with a syringe. She aspirated Coke from the tube. That could only have come from his stomach, not his lungs. She flushed the tube with water then bunged It off and hooked it out of the way while she prepared the rest of her equipment.
First she attached a pump to a drip stand. Then she opened up a packet with a clear plastic tube and a bag on one end. She hung it up on the drip stand first, then opened up a can of concentrated feed and poured it into the bag. Then she added a home made feed made from chocolate, lard, butter, cream, sugar, oil and ground nuts. She gave it a quick stir before she hung the bag up higher on the stand and opened up a roller clamp on the tube to prime the line. Once it was primed, she hooked it up to Robert's nasogastric tube and ran the feed tubing through the peristaltic feeding pump. She set it to run at 50ml/hr.
It was rather a fast rate to start the pump if at, but looking at Robert in his current state, she was sure he would have no problems tolerating it.
Robert could feel the feed going in. He could hear the pump as it pushed more calories inside him. It was strange because he couldn't taste anything, he just got an occasional whiff of chocolate as he belched.
The next morning, Robert did not feel as hungry as he usually did. The introduction of the feed overnight prevented his stomach from completely emptying. Nevertheless, he was as keen as he usually was to get down to the business of eating.
His carer clamped his tube, flushed it with water and disconnected him from his feed. Robert begrudged having to wait those few minutes before he could start eating. She even made him have a shower and get dressed before he ate his breakfast! He thought she was cruel, but really, she was doing it to make him feel better. He did not know why she bothered. None of his clothes fit anyway! He might as well just sit around naked with a sheet around him. No one of any significance would see him.
The feed restarted every night after that. The rate was increased until he could tolerate 200ml/hr easily and stayed at that.
Except for the night before weigh in day. He had to be weighed with an empty stomach.
Robert woke up with a ravishing hunger! His stomach was simply not used to being empty any more. Reluctantly he stood on the heavyweight scale. He had to have the numbers read out to him because he could not see beyond his giant gut. He'd put on another four stones in one week! Fifty six pounds! He was now thirty six stones!
Every stone he put on made getting about more difficult. His belly reached down to his knees when he stood up. As he put one foot forward and tried to step in one direction, his fat flopped in the other direction, pushing him off balance. He had to cling onto the furniture as he walked.
Even though he was only walking from one room to the next, for him it was a feat of endurance to complete. He arrived at his destination, hot, sweaty and breathless.
He complained about having to do so much exersise. He ate so much that he had to make frequent trips to the loo. The feed increased his gut motility and when he had to go, he really had to go! After suffering one or two accidents, his carer put him in adult nappies.
Robert had wanted this for weeks! This meant less exersise and more weight gain. He didn't care that someone else had to clean him up and change his incontinence pad. He didn't care that others would have to smell his shit.