Teh One Who Knocks
07-05-2016, 12:04 PM
By Emily Howett - The Mirror
http://i.imgur.com/nm3AcYN.jpg
A five-year-old boy so scared to poo he would hold it for up to FOUR MONTHS had to have a colostomy bag fitted as a last resort.
Little Jake Clark, from Warrington, Cheshire, stopped pooing at the age of 18 months and was admitted to hospital three times, once for vomiting faeces.
His phobia became so bad that it took his parents six months just to teach him that it was OK to break wind - instead he would go and hide because he was embarrassed.
Mum Carrie Brocklebank, 23, and dad Owen Clark, 24, were told by doctors it would be best for Jake to be fitted with a colostomy bag in December last year.
Before the surgery, it took two and a half hours to clear out his bowel because it was so full.
http://i.imgur.com/YIrni82.jpg
Stay-at-home-mum Carrie said: "Jake was absolutely fine until he was about 18 months and we don't know what happened but all of a sudden he was refusing to go to the toilet.
"It might have been that he'd tried going once and it had caused him pain but after that he just didn't want to do it anymore.
"I think what he'd done must have really traumatised him because after that every time he needed the toilet he would scream and cry and wouldn't let you anywhere near him.
"It was awful, it had started off as just being mild constipation which he was being medicated for but we knew it was something more serious when he went four whole months without passing poo properly."
Jake had his colostomy bag fitted at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool in December last year, just after his fifth birthday.
Carrie, who also has a daughter, Ellie-May, three, claims Jake's fear of going to the toilet is caused by a psychological issue and that he is currently being tested for autism.
After more than three years of being assessed, doctors decided it would be best to fit him with a colostomy bag because the problem was deteriorating.
http://i.imgur.com/yuspUWS.jpg
Carrie said: "We were told that because Jake had been holding the poo in for so long his bowel had become over-stretched and their only option was to have a colostomy bag fitted.
"The build up to the operation was horrendous, looking at his tummy knowing it wouldn't be the same ever again, I actually took a picture of his tummy the morning of the operation because I knew it would be the last time it would be scar free.
"We're still waiting for him to be tested for autism or to see if he has sensory issues so for now we have no idea what's been causing this."
"He's having play therapy at school at the minute to help him through the trauma of going to the toilet and also so he can be a bit more in control of his condition - hopefully this will help him quite a lot."
Carrie is now trying to raise awareness of the severity of constipation and to stop the stigma around colostomy bags.
When Jake first had his bag fitted he was so embarrassed he would hide it from his family, but now is more confident after his mum took to wearing one of her own unnecessarily to make him feel more confident.
Brenda Hill, stoma nurse specialist at Alder Hey, said: "We can't comment on individual cases but children of all ages can have formation of stomas for a variety of reasons.
"The decision to form a stoma is taken after a child and their individual condition has been assessed and all treatment options explored."
A spokesperson for Colostomy Association said: "Every year children and newborns undergo stoma surgery for a wide variety reasons, in some cases this is a life-saving operation.
"The Colostomy Association's Junior Ostomy Support Helpline (JOSH) is available for parents or carers of children with bowel or bladder issues and can provide support, information and reassurance through any difficulties or challenges that may arise."
http://i.imgur.com/nm3AcYN.jpg
A five-year-old boy so scared to poo he would hold it for up to FOUR MONTHS had to have a colostomy bag fitted as a last resort.
Little Jake Clark, from Warrington, Cheshire, stopped pooing at the age of 18 months and was admitted to hospital three times, once for vomiting faeces.
His phobia became so bad that it took his parents six months just to teach him that it was OK to break wind - instead he would go and hide because he was embarrassed.
Mum Carrie Brocklebank, 23, and dad Owen Clark, 24, were told by doctors it would be best for Jake to be fitted with a colostomy bag in December last year.
Before the surgery, it took two and a half hours to clear out his bowel because it was so full.
http://i.imgur.com/YIrni82.jpg
Stay-at-home-mum Carrie said: "Jake was absolutely fine until he was about 18 months and we don't know what happened but all of a sudden he was refusing to go to the toilet.
"It might have been that he'd tried going once and it had caused him pain but after that he just didn't want to do it anymore.
"I think what he'd done must have really traumatised him because after that every time he needed the toilet he would scream and cry and wouldn't let you anywhere near him.
"It was awful, it had started off as just being mild constipation which he was being medicated for but we knew it was something more serious when he went four whole months without passing poo properly."
Jake had his colostomy bag fitted at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool in December last year, just after his fifth birthday.
Carrie, who also has a daughter, Ellie-May, three, claims Jake's fear of going to the toilet is caused by a psychological issue and that he is currently being tested for autism.
After more than three years of being assessed, doctors decided it would be best to fit him with a colostomy bag because the problem was deteriorating.
http://i.imgur.com/yuspUWS.jpg
Carrie said: "We were told that because Jake had been holding the poo in for so long his bowel had become over-stretched and their only option was to have a colostomy bag fitted.
"The build up to the operation was horrendous, looking at his tummy knowing it wouldn't be the same ever again, I actually took a picture of his tummy the morning of the operation because I knew it would be the last time it would be scar free.
"We're still waiting for him to be tested for autism or to see if he has sensory issues so for now we have no idea what's been causing this."
"He's having play therapy at school at the minute to help him through the trauma of going to the toilet and also so he can be a bit more in control of his condition - hopefully this will help him quite a lot."
Carrie is now trying to raise awareness of the severity of constipation and to stop the stigma around colostomy bags.
When Jake first had his bag fitted he was so embarrassed he would hide it from his family, but now is more confident after his mum took to wearing one of her own unnecessarily to make him feel more confident.
Brenda Hill, stoma nurse specialist at Alder Hey, said: "We can't comment on individual cases but children of all ages can have formation of stomas for a variety of reasons.
"The decision to form a stoma is taken after a child and their individual condition has been assessed and all treatment options explored."
A spokesperson for Colostomy Association said: "Every year children and newborns undergo stoma surgery for a wide variety reasons, in some cases this is a life-saving operation.
"The Colostomy Association's Junior Ostomy Support Helpline (JOSH) is available for parents or carers of children with bowel or bladder issues and can provide support, information and reassurance through any difficulties or challenges that may arise."