I was 20 minutes from death after an 'invisible illness' ravaged my body - I thought my life was over but now I'm GLAD it happened, reveals Tom Speight

Daily Mail​

12 hours ago

Tom Speight was 20 minutes from death and thought that his life was over after his 'invisible illness' ravaged his body - but has admitted that he's now glad it happened.
The 38-year-old singer, who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when he was 19, opened up about his journey with the condition to Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shephard, 50, on Tuesday's episode of This Morning.
'Crohn's disease is a long-term condition where part of your gut becomes inflamed. It cannot currently be cured,' according to the NHS.
Tom, who is an ambassador for Crohn's and Colitis UK, is due to take part in a charity challenge this weekend to raise awareness for the disease.
He explained: 'I've had Cronn's for 20 years which is crazy. It's been a roller coaster. I was thinking about it the other day, first time in two years, where I haven't been in hospital every year, I wrote largely most of my first album in hospital.
'To do this challenge, raising money for Crohn's and Colitis UK, I'm super proud.'
The 38-year-old, who was Crohn's disease when he was 19, opened up about his journey with the condition to Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shephard, 50, (pictured) on Tuesday's episode of This Morning
Recalling what happened when he was diagnosed, Tom said: 'It came out of nowhere, I was at university, I was having diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss.
'I didn't know anything about it.
'It's important, if I can speak about it. At the time, there wasn't much awareness of Crohn's, it's important we get the word out there.
'It's an invisible illness, as well.'
Ben pointed out how serious it is as he was 20 minutes away from death at one point.
Tom said: 'Yeah, that was four years after diagnosis. 20 minutes from dying, basically. yeah. Which sounds really dramatic. And then I woke up with a stoma.'
According to the NHS, 'a colostomy is where part of your large bowel (colon) is brought out through an opening made in your tummy. The opening is called a stoma.'
Ben asked: 'Coming to terms with that must have been really, really difficult.
'How old were you at the time?'
'I would have been 23/24,' Tom replied.
He continued: 'I had a record deal, publishing deal, I remember thinking at the time when they said that they were going to have to put me in surgery, I was more worried about all of that disappearing, than the actual surgery itself.
'I just thought it's over for me, I don't know any musicians that have these things.
'I didn't really speak about it until my third album, where I thought if I have a platform I can do it for my younger self and say "It's going to be alright".
'We've toured the world, I've got back from Brazil and Argentina, done Glastonbury, living the dream, on Radio 2.
'I'm here to say to people at home, if you're struggling to get out of bed today, you can do it, this idiot has signed up for an army challenge.'
They then touched upon him posing topless with his stoma.
Tom joked: 'Let's be honest, two days later, you [Ben] were on Men's Health... I was like some budget version of Ben Shephard for a couple of days.
'That was nerve wracking.
'I hadn't taken my top off ever, since surgery, I wear a support band.
'To be standing in front of a cameralense, was daunting really. I did it to own the disease and having a stoma.
'I recently became single in the last year, I kept on thinking it was a stumbling block of like having these conversations so now I'm just going to have it as my Tinder profile.'
He added: 'I think there is misconceptions, I started going to the gym and people working out with asking "can you do this, can you do that?"
'I didn't play football for like 10 years because I was worried about getting injured. This is why I want to do the challenge to say nothing will hold me back.
'Having stoma or Crohn's, it's like my super power, it gave me a whole lease of life.
'Since diagnosis to that surgery, I was just existing really. I'm thriving.'
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
CROHN'S DISEASE EXPLAINED
Crohn's disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system.
Inflammation most commonly occurs in the last section of the small or large intestine but it can affect any part of the digestive system.
Common symptoms can include:
diarrhoea
abdominal pain
fatigue (extreme tiredness)
unintended weight loss
blood and mucus in your faeces (stools)
Remission occurs when people with the disease go long periods of time without symptoms however these periods can be followed by flare ups of symptoms.
Why it happens
The exact cause of Crohn's disease is unknown. However, research suggests a combination of factors may be responsible. These include:
genetics – genes you inherit from your parents may increase your risk of developing Crohn's disease
the immune system – the inflammation may be caused by a problem with the immune system that causes it to attack healthy bacteria in the gut
previous infection – a previous infection may trigger an abnormal response from the immune system
smoking – smokers with Crohn's disease usually have more severe symptoms than non-smokers
environmental factors – Crohn's disease is most common in westernised countries such as the UK, and least common in poorer parts of the world such as Africa, which suggests the environment has a part to play