Tom Speight, with his gym-conquered physique, showed every centimeter at the self-assured pop star while the photographer broke away. Less obvious was the battle he had cost him to get to that point.
But look again at the results of that photo shoot here, and just above his belt is the stoma of the singer-songwriter-a permanent opening in his gut that can collect his faeces in a bag.
For Tom, 38, who worked with great artists such as Ed Sheeran, Keane and Mumford & Sons, this was the result of complications of severe inflammatory bowel disorders (IBD), and this is the first time in 15 years that he has completely exposed his upper body in public.
But he does this not to promote an album or to drum ticket sales for a tour. Instead, it is to offer hope to anyone with Crohn’s, the painful car -immune disease that he had to endure for half of his life, that it is possible to live fully after such a drastic operation.
“Having a stoma has undoubtedly saved my life,” says Tom today. ‘It has made me a stronger person and has formed who I am. But there is still a huge stigma around stomas and talk about it.
“For me it was all about claiming my life. Pre-operation, I just did not live.
‘Now I have my career back and I am in the best form of my life. I am proud of my stoma – it is not something that I want to hide, and I hope it helps others realize that it doesn’t stop you. ‘
Tom Speight, with his gym-conquered physique, showed every centimeter at the self-assured pop star while the photographer broke away. Less clear was the struggle he had cost him to get to that point
Tom is one of the approximately 500,000 people in the United Kingdom with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, another form of IBD. The lifelong disorders that have no healing cause the immune system to attack healthy tissue, causing painful ulcers and inflammation in the digestive tract.
Symptoms include pain, diarrhea, weight loss and fatigue, but there can also be serious complications. There is an increased risk of colon cancer, painful infections and damage to the intestinal wall, and many patients suffer on nutritional deficiencies, both because of poor absorption and because they avoid eating due to abdominal pain and nausea.
Tom, who has been living with Crohn’s for almost 20 years, was 19 and a promising music student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts by Paul McCartney when he was diagnosed.
He hurried to the toilet and broke up to 30 times a day, suffered painful pain and his weight fell to 9 pcs. He went to A&E after reaching ‘breaking point’ and was held in for more than a week. Tests revealed that he had Crohn’s and he was put on steroids and other medicines as biological medicines that help block inflammation.
While his career went into force to strength, he continued to fight important symptoms behind the scenes.
In 2010 he collapsed at home with a perforated intestine, a serious complication of Crohn’s. It quickly caused blood poisoning – blood poisoning – and doctors warned him that he had only 20 minutes to live without emergency surgery.
“It felt like I had stabbed and I just collapsed,” Tom recalls. “I don’t remember much afterwards and woke up six hours later in intensive care with a stoma.”
While Tom’s career of Tom came into force, he continued to fight important symptoms behind the scenes
Tom is one of the approximately 500,000 people in the United Kingdom with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, another form of IBD. Depicted with a conversation about Chrohn’s
About 15 percent of people need a stoma at a certain point in their lives. The opening in the intestines or intestine leaves waste off, which means that seriously inflamed or damaged parts of the intestine can be removed. Some, such as Tom, need it in an emergency, but others can be offered one to reduce the severity of their symptoms, or have a temporary to give the body time to heal. In the case of Tom, doctors had performed an ileostomy – a stoma in the small intestine.
“They saved my life,” he says, “but I was denial about what a stoma meant. Having an ileostomy is a difficult performance because it is higher in the digestive tract than a colostomy. The stool is more liquid at that stage and you have to get up at night to change the bag. ‘
A year later the ileostomy was reversed and he was colostomy operation. He also started a new biological medicine, Humira, which also managed his symptoms better.
Grace Baird, a Crohn’s & Colitis UK IBD nurse specialist, says: ‘It’s as close to a cure as we have. People are worried about what they will look like and whether they can still go swimming, exercising and have intimate relationships. They can – and the most adapt faster than they expect. ‘
Tom, who has a new album, Perfect Strangers, comes out in September, plays football and plays 100 performances a year, and is now an ambassador for Charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK. He has revised his diet to prevent red meat and high -quality food (onion and garlic ‘are my kryptonite’).
He says: ‘I have been in remission for two years and I am in great health. There will be bumps in the way – Crohn’s is a lifelong state – but I now feel much more prepared for them. ‘
- For more information, visit Crohnsandcolitis.org.uk. World IBD Day is Monday 19 May.
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