Healthy 29 year-old suffers common gut problem…weeks later he was dead – and thousands more could be at risk

The chilling tale of a ‘healthy’ 29 year-old who died just weeks after being struck with a ‘stomach ache’ has shed light on the deadly risks of regular binge drinking. 

Dylan Thomas Wakefield, from East Yorkshire, suddenly awoke with a ‘relentless searing pain’ in the upper left side of his stomach, on April 24 this year.

When his condition worsened, the pub landlord drove himself to hospital, where he was initially treated for gastritis—otherwise known as stomach inflammation.

But just a couple of hours later, Mr Wakefield, who ‘liked a drink’, was told his symptoms were in fact caused by acute pancreatitis.

The condition develops when the pancreas becomes extremely swollen, leading to life-threatening complications like necrosis—when part of the organ’s tissue dies. 

This can quickly lead to infection, triggering lethal sepsis, where the body overreacts to an intruding pathogen. 

Pancreatitis has long been linked to heavy alcohol consumption, with studies estimating that about one in four UK cases are caused by boozing. 

Alcohol can over-stimulate enzymes in the pancreas that help break down food, causing the compounds to attack healthy tissue.

The young father in a coma next to his brother Nathan who has shared what happened

While the cause of Mr Wakefield’s pancreatitis hasn’t been confirmed, his brother, Nathan Lamb, 31, believes it was due to alcohol intake.

‘Dylan liked a drink but he was only 29—issues like this you would think only start later in life,’ he said.

‘He has his whole future ahead of him. It is so unfair.’

Tragic music producer Avicii famously suffered acute pancreatitis as a result of excessive drinking and painkiller addiction, which led to his gallbladder and appendix being removed.

The Swedish DJ, whose real name was Tim Bergling, took his own life in 2018, aged just 28. 

Soon after Mr Wakefield’s diagnosis at the hospital, doctors spotted that his blood pressure had dropped to dangerously low levels, and they decided to sedate him to give his organs ‘a rest’.

‘They attached him to several machines and told us they would be taking over to let Dylan’s body focus on getting stronger,’ said Mr Lamb. 

The father-of-three awoke two days later, and his condition began to stabilise a little.

Dylan Thomas Wakefield, a ‘beloved father’, died weeks after he started experiencing symptoms 

Dylan Thomas Wakefield in a coma next to his brother Nathan and his mum Penelope

Mr Lamb even felt well enough to post a heartbreaking Facebook message, telling his family he was awake.

But just three weeks later his condition rapidly deteriorated, forcing doctors to put him into a medically induced coma once again. 

This is an extreme treatment method that is used for critically ill patients to protect their brain from the effect of a lack of oxygen that may occur when organs begin to fail.

Tragically, there was little doctors could do to save his life, and Mr Wakefield died on May 28th. 

‘The whole ordeal has been a massive shock. We didn’t think he would die from this,’ said Mr Lamb. 

‘He has eight siblings and they all miss him. We were a very close family and they all meant the world to him.’

Following his death, Mr Wakefield’s friends have set up a crowdfunder to help with funeral expenses.

It’s estimated that around 2,500 people in the UK suffer acute pancreatitis every year, with one in five of these cases progressing to necrotising pancreatitis—where the tissue begins to die off.

Tragic DJ Avicii suffered from acute pancreatitis and had his gallbladder removed following a long stint of alcohol abuse.

The deadly condition features similar symptoms to gastritis such as stomach pain, swelling of the tummy, indigestion, vomiting, nausea, a high temperature.

It can also cause fast heartbeat as well as yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin known as jaundice—although the NHS warns this can be less obvious on brown or black skin. 

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed alcohol-related deaths are at a record high, after increasing for four consecutive years, with 10,500 fatalities recorded in 2023. 

This was four per cent higher than 2022’s figure and is 38 per cent rise compared to 2019, the last, pre-pandemic figures. 

Earlier this year, MailOnline shared a map (above) showing the rates of alcohol deaths in local areas across the UK.

Sunderland in the North East of England had the highest alcohol death rate in Britain with almost 30 deaths per 100,000 people, double the national rate for England.