A British mum claims her appendix was “wrongly removed” after she fell ill while on holiday in Egypt. A few weeks later, she discovered that she only had food poisoning. Now the woman cannot even eat everyday foods.A vacation gone wrongBritish woman Sian Irving, 29, from Paignton, Devon, traveled to Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort in Egypt, for a 10-day holiday to celebrate her partner Jack Jackson’s birthday. But what should have been a relaxing holiday soon turned into a nightmare. They traveled through Egypt from September 19 to 26, 2025. Halfway through the £2,000 holiday she developed severe abdominal pain, vomiting and a temperature of 41C.“It started off slow. I started feeling very hot and then I started having stomach pains. The pain was incredible. It felt like my insides were being pierced and torn apart at the same time. I kept vomiting and whimpering like a little baby because it hurt so much,” the woman told The Mirror UK.The woman said doctors initially thought it was just gas, but later told her it was appendicitis and removed the appendix. “They did a scan and said they couldn’t really see anything. At first they thought it might be gas, then they told me it was appendicitis. My temperature stayed at 41C and they covered me with wet cloths to try to cool me down.”The woman was hospitalized for four to five days in Sharm el-Sheikh. However, even after the operation she experienced the same problems. “At one point I was told that I could die if my condition did not improve. After the surgery I still had the same symptoms. By then I had been in Egypt for a long time and eventually they told me I needed to return to the UK,” she said. She returned home and found that surgery was not necessary.British doctors tell her about shocking misdiagnosisThe road home was no less grueling. The couple flew back to the UK on October 5, six days later than their planned return date. “I also vomited on the plane. When we landed I was still in a lot of pain. I don’t remember much because I was so unwell,” she recalls. When she landed in Britain, her condition remained critical enough to require immediate admission to Exeter Hospital. She underwent further medical tests and treatment over the next five nights. Doctors told her there was no need to remove her appendix. The cause of her illness was most likely food poisoning.“I can’t believe I had my appendix removed; It leaves me in constant pain and now I hate my stomach – I have no confidence anymore,” she said. The hospital also diagnosed her with colitis, a condition that causes inflammation of the colon. This meant that she found it difficult to eat even everyday food. Doctors treated her with intravenous antibiotics and steroids.“I had never even heard of colitis before. It attacks the colon and causes inflammation. You’re in pain, you really want to go to the toilet, and it’s awkward because people don’t want to talk about it,” the mom said.Although her condition has improved, she can no longer tolerate everyday foods, including gluten, dairy, and even chocolate. “I’m a little better now, but it was really difficult. If I eat certain foods, my bloating can make me look like I’m nine months pregnant. Even things like toast with an egg can make me sick.” I had to completely change the way I ate.”She also suffered from significant weight loss and fatigue.The saddest thing, she says, is that she cannot take care of her children. “There was a moment when I couldn’t even pick up my children. Now they spend time with both their father and me, and fortunately I can do a lot more than before. But the fatigue is terrible and I still find it difficult to sleep.”The unnecessary surgery left a permanent scar on her body. “It’s been almost a year and I still deal with this every single day.”