Louise Thompson has shared the harrowing story of being refused treatment at A&E despite having a “jugful of her own blood.” The 36-year-old former Made in Chelsea star has been candid about her ongoing health struggles, including a serious bout that led to emergency colon surgery.
Diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) in 2018, Louise faces a chronic bowel condition that inflames the colon and rectum, causing ulcers that can bleed heavily. Six years after her diagnosis, she underwent stoma surgery after a severe episode while on holiday, ahead of having her colon removed.
Louise now lives with a stoma bag but is determined to move forward. “I’ve lived with an IBD for nine years now,” she explained. “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 confirmed UC—an incurable disease where your immune system attacks your own body.”
She recounted the terrifying Antigua incident: “Fast forward a few years, and I found myself in a hotel bathroom, losing an egg cup full of blood every twenty minutes while my two-year-old son waited outside. And still, I told myself it was ‘just a flare’.”
Highlighting the dangers of underestimating IBD, Louise said, “One of the things people might not realise is that it can become life-threatening, so when people dismiss it as IBS or a gluten intolerance it can feel hurtful. When I returned home, I developed fulminant colitis. My albumin dropped sharply, and I stopped absorbing food, which can be dangerous. Despite all of this trauma, I have still been turned away from A&E while holding a measuring jug full of blood.”
Louise described being denied care, with staff saying, “Apparently, there were ‘no doctors available to see me,’ and my bloods were holding up ok.” A week later, she was rushed into emergency surgery due to an internal perforation and fluid in all four quadrants of her abdomen. “Unfortunately, this is not a problem that is going away,” she admitted.
The star’s colon surgery followed being fitted with a stoma bag in January 2024 after ongoing stomach issues. By November, she endured excruciating abdominal pain and went into septic shock after another emergency surgery, marking yet another setback in her fight against the disease.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
