“We all got COVID-19 last Christmas and that was the start of a really horrendous few months,” says Carrie. “My husband Michael and I faced our most challenging period as parents over that time, as our son Matthew became more and more ill. He hadn’t been quite right for the past two years and our doctor had sent him for allergy testing, which revealed nothing. He finished his GCSEs in May and his health really deteriorated, with frequent stomach aches.”
Their older son, Nathan (18), and younger daughter, Keris (13), were equally aware that Matthew (16) was finding life increasingly difficult. “In July he developed a spot on his bottom that was causing intense pain and he had blood in his stool, so I contacted the doctor, who asked for a sample,” says Carrie. “She came straight back to us to refer Matthew to Luton and Dunstable Hospital the next day. When he was examined we were told the spot was a fistula and by August he was in agony – he couldn’t sit down and weight was falling off him. It was his lowest point and we were worried sick.”
