Louise Thompson shared a touching moment with her two-year-old son, Leo, as he investigated her new stoma bag.
The former Made in Chelsea star, 34, revealed that Leo is ‘fascinated’ by the medical device attached to his mother’s stomach and frequently lifts her clothes to examine it.
She shared a video on Instagram of Leo pulling up her shirt and gently touching the bag while she smiled down at him.
Thompson recently had an ileostomy, which involved removing the end of her small bowel from the abdomen and her colon. A bag can then be attached to the opening in the abdomen to collect waste, and it’s clear that little Leo is adjusting to the change.
She captioned the sweet moment: ‘There are certainly many lessons we could learn from our children.
‘My son has a really funny obsession with my ileostomy bag. I have no idea how he knows to say “poo poo,” but I guess he’s smarter than I thought.’
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She went on to discuss how children can learn to accept differences that adults may struggle with.
She continued: ‘Isn’t it wonderful how unaffected our children are by awkward and “taboo” subjects? If only we could all be this non judgmental… except when he points out a spot on my face in public and shouts “boo boo.”‘
She then joked: ‘I guess boo boo and poo poo sound similar. The #stoma is a bit of a both. It’s both an ouchy and a way to go to the loo.’
The TV star then encouraged others who may have a stoma bag to embrace and normalise their condition, explaining that she wanted to share the video to help others feel less self-conscious. She also revealed that her fiance, Ryan Libbey, recorded the tender moment.
She wrote: ‘I’m sharing this off the cuff video that Ryan captured when trying to get a “civilised outfit shot” for every person that messaged me to say that they haven’t had the confidence to tell their friends and family they have a stoma…. Some of you for years. (There are thousands of you btw).’
If that wasn’t inspiring enough, she concluded the caption with: ‘Nothing to be ashamed of. Still the same human on the inside. I haven’t had a personality transplant. I can still dress, walk and talk the same.’
Thompson has openly shared her health struggles with her 1.2 million Instagram followers, documenting a difficult few years for her.
A week ago, she shared a post on Instagram about her little grey stoma bag, which she credits with saving her life.
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She wrote: ‘Isn’t it bizarre that this little grey pouch is the price I pay for good health! I say good riddance to that nasty menacing colon!’
Thompson needed a stoma bag after losing a significant amount of blood while on holiday with her fiance and son.
She later admitted that her lupus and ulcerative colitis diagnoses had contributed to the emergency situation.
While Thompson’s ulcerative colitis diagnosis (inflammation of the lower end of your digestive system, including your large bowel and rectum) came before giving birth to her son, it wasn’t until later that she ‘danced with death’ in a series of dire health issues.
Thompson revealed after Leo’s birth in 2021 that she needed to stay in the hospital due to a variety of physical and emotional symptoms.
She wrote of the experience: ‘To dance with death twice brings a whole new view of the world,’ she shared that she and her new baby were admitted to the ICU.
‘Whilst Leo made a fairly quick recovery ❤️🩹🙏🏼 I have been recovering in hospital for a month with various serious complications.’
Following her physical recovery, Louise shared on social media that she was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and post-natal anxiety.
She received her lupus diagnosis shortly after, in 2022, after experiencing severe joint pain and other symptoms. Lupus is an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain, skin rashes, fatigue, stomach pain, hair loss, swelling, and weight fluctuations.
The heartwarming video of Leo reaching for his mother’s stoma bag demonstrates that despite her difficult days, Thompson still has her family’s love and acceptance – and is even using her health journey to inspire others.
