Louise Thompson has taken to Instagram with a post to share a glimpse of the realties of living with an ‘invisible illness’ amid her ongoing traumatic health battle.
Louise Thompson has taken to Instagram with a post to share a glimpse of the realties of living with an ‘invisible illness’ amid her ongoing traumatic health battle.
The former Made In Chelsea star, 34, looked sensational in a bikini as she danced with a huge smile on the beach with son Leo, two, in a clip which was filmed just two weeks before being rushed back into hospital.
Louise wrote that ‘On the outside, everything may seem fine, but on the inside, it’s a different story’ as the video was then intercut with contrasting snaps of her health battle, including tearful selfies and photos of her in her hospital bed.
The TV personality had a ‘lifesaving’ stoma bag fitted last month after years of health woes and hospital visits following a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis in 2018.
She also suffered a near death experience in 2021 when she gave birth to her son who she shares with fiancé Ryan Libbey.
Louise Thompson, 34, has taken to Instagram with a post to share a glimpse of the realties of living with an ‘invisible illness’ amid her ongoing traumatic health battle.
The former Made In Chelsea star looked sensational in a bikini as she danced with a huge smile on the beach with son Leo, two, in a clip which was filmed just two weeks before being rushed back into hospital
Louise wrote that ‘On the outside, everything may seem fine, but on the inside, it’s a different story’ as the video was then intercut with contrasting snaps of her health battle, including tearful selfies and photos of her in her hospital bed
The TV personality had a ‘lifesaving’ stoma bag fitted last month after years of health woes and hospital visits following a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis in 2018
She also suffered a near death experience in 2021 when she gave birth to her son who she shares with fiancé Ryan Libbey
In a lengthy caption Louise wrote: ‘ Here’s one for all of my followers that suffer with an invisible illness or chronic condition’
Before concluding: There’s an overwhelming sense of isolation when others don’t understand the invisible battles you face. I know it might sound mad, but it’s just the way it is! So I’m just here’.
On Thursday Louise shared photos of the moment she met son Leo for the first time’ in hospital.
She almost died during the birth in 2021 and was left with post traumatic stress disorder.
Louise revealed she ‘had major attachment issues with her little boy’ following the traumatic birth but is now ‘doing really well’ three years later.
She admitted she was shocked she was able to ‘smile’ as she was joined by partner Ryan in the photo which showed her meeting their newborn son for the first time.
She was seen wearing a hospital gown and face mask as she cradled baby Leo while sat in a wheelchair.
Alongside the throwback snaps, the TV personality wrote: ‘My camera roll post-birth is a bit atypical.
‘Instead of taking pictures of my baby, I seemed to be taking pictures of my battle wounds and tracking them.
On Thursday Louise shared photos of the moment she met son Leo for the first time’ in hospital
She almost died during the birth in 2021 and was left with post traumatic stress disorder
She revealed she ‘had major attachment issues with her little boy’ following the traumatic birth but is now ‘doing really well’ three years later
Last month Louise revealed her stoma bag in a candid social media post
‘However, I do have a few pictures and videos from those early months and when I feel strong enough I have a quick glance back.
‘Sometimes it makes me feel funny, other times it makes me feel sad, but often it simply reminds me of what is possible even during those darkest moments. The one thing it makes me do every time without fail is run upstairs to watch Leo while he sleeps (normally the only time I would scroll through photos) or if he happens to be awake I’ll hug him extra tight.
‘So here is the moment I met Leo for the first time. I can’t quite believe that I managed to conjure up a smile for a photo. Then there was a pause. In many respects.’
She continued: ‘This isn’t completely out of the blue. I noticed that it was Maternal Mental Health Week and I wanted to offer up something hence the reason for looking back.
‘Before I share some of my thoughts surrounding childbirth I want to look at what the aim of this week is (I know there is a week for bloody everything these days and I don’t think we necessarily need an excuse to talk about serious topics but sometimes these kinds of posts and ‘weeks’ can feel a bit full on and a bit preachy, particularly if you’ve never been through anything significant MH wise OR if you’re about to give birth). SO, let’s break it down a bit…
‘MMHW is a week-long campaign dedicated to talking about mental health problems before, during, and after pregnancy.
‘It’s not aimed at being ‘scary’. Instead, the goal is to raise public and professional awareness of perinatal mental health problems. It’s important to advocate for women and families impacted, to change attitudes, and to break down the taboo surrounding MH as well as to help people access the information, care, and support they need to recover.
‘To start, I thought it could be helpful if you guys reading this shared some of your own personal thoughts or experiences in the comments below to lighten the load and also to help others feel less alone. Additionally, it’s important to highlight (to the gov) HOW MUCH OF A PROBLEM mental health can be following the entry into motherhood.
‘If sharing your whole story feels a bit overwhelming then maybe you could write the MH condition you suffered with instead (PPD, Psychosis, perinatal OCD, Anxiety, postpartum blues… or you could simply write ‘cried a lot’ or ‘felt worthless’ or ‘like a crap mum’).
‘I think you’ll be surprised by how many people DIDN’T find it a walk in the park. Feel free to also share anything that helped you during that tough period, including any resources. I feel like this is a fairly safe space. I’m very lucky to have such kind and generous followers.’
