Saturday, October 5, 2024

Louise Thompson wins the mums’ race at son Leo’s sports day as she reflects on suffering an anxiety breakdown a year ago and says ‘my stoma surgery felt like a distant memory’

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Louise Thompson had a sports day to remember on Saturday, winning the mums’ race at her son Leo’s nursery.

The former Made In Chelsea star was cheered on by little Leo, two, her partner Ryan Libbey, brother Sam Thompson and mum Karen as she sprinted to the finish line, leaving other parents in the dust.

Sharing a video shot by a proud Ryan on her Instagram page, Louise admitted that she had almost forgotten about her recent stoma surgery during the race as she reflected on how far she has come in both her physical and mental health journeys. 

‘My stoma surgery felt like a distant memory as I lined up to sprint in the ‘mother’s race’ at sports day this year… it was only when someone asked me ‘how I was feeling’ straight after I Usain Bolted to the finish line that I remembered it wasn’t THAT LONG ago that I had my colon removed,’ she told her followers.

Louise Thompson had a sports day to remember on Saturday, winning the mums’ race at her son Leo’s nursery

The star was cheered on nby little Leo, two, her partner Ryan Libbey, brother Sam Thompson and mum Karen as she sprinted to the finish line, leaving other parents in the dust

The star was cheered on nby little Leo, two, her partner Ryan Libbey, brother Sam Thompson and mum Karen as she sprinted to the finish line, leaving other parents in the dust

‘Maybe this was all a bit of a surprise. I guess they were shocked. To be honest I was shocked. I didn’t know I had that spint in me either.’

‘I’m sitting here laughing a little too hard at the still shots that Ryan took from that video. My posture is incredibly serious. And I have an embarrassingly serious runner’s face too.’

‘I’ve always been known for having particularly appley cheeks, which tend to get flattened in the wind. I sort of envisioned myself channeling Princess Diana at sports day in 1991, a total ICON, but instead this.’

Louise explained how much the day meant to her as just a year ago she almost didn’t make it to Leo’s sports day as she battled anxiety.

The former Made In Chelsea star, almost died during the birth of her son in 2021 and was left with post traumatic stress disorder.

Louise explained that ‘my friend Sophie reminded me that I almost didn’t make it to sports day last year.’

‘I had messaged her ahead of time a year ago saying how anxious I felt and that I wasn’t sure if I could handle being around all the people and all that noise, as well as the unpredictability that comes with any ‘first’.’

‘Today, she told me to step back and look at how far I’d come.’

Louise enjoyed the milestone day with her family, including fiancé Ryan and brother Sam

Louise enjoyed the milestone day with her family, including fiancé Ryan and brother Sam 

The proud mum shared photos of Leo with his medal and explained how much the day meant to her as just a year ago she almost didn't make it to sports day as she battled anxiety

The proud mum shared photos of Leo with his medal and explained how much the day meant to her as just a year ago she almost didn’t make it to sports day as she battled anxiety

He rmum Karen and Sam turned out to cheer Louise and Leo on

He rmum Karen and Sam turned out to cheer Louise and Leo on 

The proud mum explained that she now uses milestones in Leo’s life to fuel her positive thinking: ‘I was talking to a journalist on Thursday about milestone moments in Leo’s life, and things like sports day or his Carol concert or birthdays seem to really highlight the passing of time (sometimes this is sad, but in my case, it’s largely really positive).’

She now realises that she was suffering with generalized anxiety disorder a year ago. ‘I actually remember writing a caption after the sports day last year and a fellow author wrote to me saying they thought it sounded like I suffered with GAD,’ Louise wrote.

‘It was quite full on. It hit me hard. Now a year on and everything makes so much more sense. I definitely did have GAD. I think I was still suffering with really bad dissociation too.’

‘This year was much better. May the improvements continue as the years pass. What they said is true. As cliche as it sounds, our messy wounds really do heal with time.’

Ending her post, Louise pointed out that little Leo doesn’t exactly take after her when it comes to competitiveness in sport as she quipped: ‘Ps. Leo didn’t leave the start line for 2 of his races, which I eventually came to terms with.’

‘And on the one occasion that he did decide to run he literally stopped an inch before he met the red line at the end the tension was sickening !’ 

Sharing a video shot by a proud Ryan on her Instagram page, Louise admitted that she had almost forgotten about her recent stoma surgery during the race as she reflected on how far she has come (pictured in March)

Sharing a video shot by a proud Ryan on her Instagram page, Louise admitted that she had almost forgotten about her recent stoma surgery during the race as she reflected on how far she has come (pictured in March) 

Louise realises that she was suffering with generalized anxiety disorder a year ago. 'I remember writing a caption after sports day last year and a fellow author wrote to me saying they thought it sounded like I suffered with GAD,' Louise said as she shared her old caption

Louise realises that she was suffering with generalized anxiety disorder a year ago. ‘I remember writing a caption after sports day last year and a fellow author wrote to me saying they thought it sounded like I suffered with GAD,’ Louise said as she shared her old caption

Louise recently published her book Lucky which details her health battles over the past three years.  

She shared the news of having a stoma bag fitted with her Instagram followers in early April, as she bravely admitted it is ‘not something she wanted to hide forever’.

The television personality has previously spoken about her ongoing struggles with the bowel condition ulcerative colitis as well as the autoimmune disease lupus.

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. The condition has no cure, but can be effectively managed with time. 

Earlier this year she spent two weeks in hospital after suffering a ulcerative colitis flare up during a holiday with Ryan and Leo. 

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