A woman in Japan who suffered domestic abuse at the hands of her grandfather has taken the brave step of releasing pictures of herself. The Japanese woman, who only identified herself as ‘Wild Cabbage’ on Twitter said she lived with her grandfather 10 years ago and he repeatedly starved her.

Axar.az informs citing Metro.

The woman from Kyoto in Central Japan’s Kansai region claimed in a tweet that she was ‘forbidden to eat’ by her abusive grandparent, who would ‘kick me in the belly’ when she was caught eating in secret. She would then either spit or vomit out the food, reports said, causing her to shed so much weight that she ended up weighing just 37lbs. Selfies taken in front of a mirror in her home a decade ago show just two of the woman’s incredible photos from when she was just skin and bone.

In her social media post, she urged those suffering from similar abuse or eating disorders not to wait, saying they should ‘ask for help before it’s too late’. When she was eventually rescued, experts told her she was ’10 minutes away from death’, she added. Thankfully, 10 years later and now in her 20s, she says she has now recovered. She did not say what happened to her grandfather or whether any other relatives were around to help at the time.