Worthing girl battles Crohn's disease
IN a six-week period, little Scarlett Olney lost more than two and a half stone due to a mystery condition.
At first, her concerned mum, Karen, was told it was probably just a virus but "mother's intuition" meant she was convinced something else was wrong.
At one point, Scarlett, now 10, was so poorly she was passing blood and even collapsed while awaiting tests.
She was eight when she first became ill – her weight went from 7stone 3lbs to 4stone 10lbs in under six weeks.
Diagnosis
Scarlett underwent a number of procedures, including an endoscopy and colonoscopy – where a camera on a thin tube is passed down through the stomach and up into the bowel.
Eventually, a specialist was able to tell the family, of Leeward Road, Tarring, that Scarlett had Crohn's disease – a condition causing an inflammation of the bowel.
Karen, 35, said: "When they said it was Crohn's disease, I just thought it was a food intolerance, because I didn't really know much about it.
"People often think it's more minor than it is – they put it in the same category as IBS – but it's totally different."
Raising awareness
To make people more aware of the disease, and what it means for sufferers, Karen and Scarlett took part in a sponsored five-mile walk in London, in aid of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease, and have raised more than 800.
Scarlett completed the walk in less than two hours.
Crohn's causes deep ulcers and can affect anywhere in the digestive system, from the bowel to the mouth.
Scarlett, a Thomas A'Becket Middle School pupil, has a severe case and has sometimes found the symptoms so bad she has been unable to get out of bed.
Brave face
But her mum said she had remained positive and brave. "Sometimes, I don't really think it's happening, because you look at her and she doesn't always look unwell.
"She's so positive and determined, and has just been so brave."
By the time of Scarlett's diagnosis, part of her small bowel was so damaged it had to be removed in an operation.
The remaining part was stitched back together, and she should suffer no long-term effects from the procedure.
Following the operation, Scarlett was not allowed to eat any solid food for six weeks and had to survive on a powdered food substitute.
Food limits
Scarlett said: "I was a bit scared about the operation but I wanted to be better.
"When I wasn't allowed to have food, it was really, really hard because my family would be eating their dinner and I didn't know whether to sit with them or not.
"I could smell things like pizza, and I wanted some, but I couldn't have it."
She was eventually allowed to reintroduce solid foods to her diet and said she was "so excited" when she had her first jacket potato.
Now, Scarlett and Karen want to raise awareness of Crohn's.
Hospital help
There is no cure for the condition, but it can be controlled, to an extent, with medication.
Karen said: "It was really quite worrying when all this first started happening to Scarlett, but Worthing Hospital, especially Beach ward, has been fantastic in helping us.
"The Crohn's does mean we can't always plan too far ahead as we don't know how Scarlett will be, but luckily we are starting to get it under control a bit."
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Weather for Worthing
Sunday 27 May 2012
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