Louise Thompson has broken down in tears in unseen footage from hospital as she battles the trauma of incurable inflammatory bowel disease. The former Made In Chelsea star, 36, was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2018 and in April 2024, was fitted with a stoma after falling ill during a trip to Antigua, ahead of having her colon removed.
Health Struggles and Hospital Ordeal
On the holiday, she lost significant amounts of blood, could not walk or hold her son, and had to book an early flight home. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic bowel condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed and small ulcers develop on the colon's lining, which can bleed. A stoma is a surgically-created opening made on the abdomen to divert body waste into a medical device, which the person can then empty. Louise has named her bag 'Winnie' in a nod to Winnie The Pooh.
On Tuesday, she marked World IBD Day with a new Instagram post, discussing how tough it has been to manage the illness. Alongside, she shared clips and pictures of herself in hospital and breaking down while struggling to cope with the pain.
Emotional Instagram Post
She penned: 'The night before I lost an organ, I was still posting photos of my outfit. That's the strange thing about Ulcerative Colitis. You can look completely fine while your body is quietly falling apart.' She added: 'I've lived with an IBD for nine years now. Nine years of an incurable disease people still barely talk about unless it happens to someone they love.'
'For me, it started as stomach pain. I thought it was food poisoning. Then blood. Then exhaustion. Then a colonoscopy that diagnosed me with UC. An incurable disease where your immune system attacks your own body.' Fast forward a few years, and she found herself in a hotel bathroom in Antigua, losing an egg cup full of blood every twenty minutes while her two-year-old son sat outside the door. She still told herself it was 'just a flare'.
She continued: 'I thought the copious steroid tablets I was taking would help. I was told they would, and I trusted them. The truth is, I think they were battering my tummy. I had a thin white powder pouring out of my bum, but I was told it was mucous. It was NOT mucous. I couldn't hold anything in. I was leaking. Then the prolapse. The problem is that when you live with chronic illness long enough, you become very good at normalising the unacceptable. It grinds you down.'
She added: 'But one of the things that people might not realise about IBD is that it can become life-threatening, so when people snub it as IBS or a gluten intolerance it can feel hurtful. When I returned home, I developed fulminant colitis. My albumin was on a sharp downward trajectory, and I stopped absorbing food which can be dangerous. As patients we know our bodies and we shouldn't have to fight so hard to be taken seriously.'
Despite all of her combined trauma, she has still been turned away from A&E while holding a measuring jug full of blood. She concluded: 'Apparently, there were 'no doctors available to see me', and my bloods were holding up ok. A week later, I was rushed into emergency surgery following an internal perforation and fluid in all four quadrants of my abdomen. Unfortunately, this is not a problem that is going away.'
Ongoing Recovery and Therapy
It comes after back in March Louise shared an emotional update on her health woes, as she continued to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder. Louise is currently in therapy for her PTSD - with her victory in March coming with her returning to Antigua two years after she was forced to cut short a trip to the island to have her colon removed.
In March, Louise proudly revealed she has returned to the traumatic spot with son Leo, four, and her partner Ryan Libbey, saying: 'This was a beautiful opportunity to re-write those memories in better health.' Alongside a lengthy caption detailing her emotions, Louise cosied up to her son while also sharing stunning scenery snaps showing the pair by the water.
She wrote: 'I don't know where to begin but Antigua is very, very nice. I actually came out here 2 years ago but the trip was cut short because I had to fly back home to have my colon removed after reaching fulminant ulcerative colitis... This was a beautiful opportunity to re-write those memories in better health.' She added: 'Travelling with ptsd can be hard. I experience major dissociation on day 2 when my brain panics post travel day (routined) when I suddenly have a lack of routine, but newsflash, I haven't felt bad ONCE in the almost two weeks that we've been here... I feel like I've turned a major corner in my recovery and I'm unimaginably happy about it.'
She noted: 'In case you didn't know 90-95% of serotonin is produced in the gut so it's unsurprising that when I was physically unwell for all that time my mental state was absolutely cooked... It also affects digestion and clotting and lots of other important processes.' She concluded: 'Anyway a few years ago I thought I'd never enjoy travel again but here we are like a totally normal family...'
Letter to Her Stoma Bag
The month before, Louise had shared an emotional letter to her stoma bag, two years after having the bag fitted while undergoing a life-saving procedure. On the anniversary of having Winnie fitted, she shared a post and emotional video addressing her combined gratitude and resentment for the life-changing device.
She wrote: 'Winnie was born 2 years ago. And we've been attached at the hip ever since. I'm not normally compatible with Aquarius signs but then again this wasn't a relationship that I chose. We were thrown in to each other's lives out of necessity... It's been an interesting journey. You've taught me a lot. I think I owe you a lot. Sometimes you're my best friend, other times I hate you... You're clever stubborn overly honest - I don't need to know that much detail about my health thank you very much. It's funny to think that you might be in my life forever.'
She added: 'Clinging on right up until the end. Two years on and I'm still making my peace. Although I did have a massage two nights ago as a v day treat and I really resented you... I couldn't be bothered to explain my situation to the lovely foreign massage therapist who thought I said I have stomach problems instead of a stoma bag... I nodded and prayed that she didn't get all up in my groin or she'd have had a right fright. Sometimes I wish you away... Especially this last month when you've been raking me up from my deepest sleep and sweetest dreams every single night. Good practice for another kid I guess...'
She concluded: 'Sometimes it's ok to complain. I never do. I joke, but I don't complain. I'll complain about a chip on the sideboard or the dogs barking. But never about Winnie. Even when she leaks. It's good I've got a solid handle on 'perspective'... For the most part life is a breeze. This morning I'm allowing myself a moment of reflection… I'm sat here writing this and feeling grateful to the first person who ever performed a colectomy … can you believe this - The first recorded colectomy was a right hemicolectomy performed in 1732 by the French surgeon George Arnaud de Ronsil. The EARLY 1700s... I wouldn't wanna be the person on that operating table. Thanks to the team that did mine so tidily (I think) and so safely. And thanks to all the test subjects before me. I wonder what will be possible for ibd / colon cancer sufferers in the future? x x... If anyone has any questions please fire away as I know it's a little unusual.'
