“A hard pill to swallow” – Harvey’s story

It all began at Easter 2022.

Harvey had Covid-19 for the first time. A few days later he began telling me (his mum) that he had a sore tummy. I put it down to a typical 11 year old wanting to wag school with excuses. I dismissed his comments as they were inconsistent, and often just in passing every now again. Fast forward a couple of months and Harvey began having some bouts of diarrhea, I again assumed he just had a bout of gastroenteritis.

Around a month later, I noticed mucus and blood in his underwear. Concerned, I questioned Harvey. His response was that he has this almost every time he goes to the toilet. This prompted me to get him to the doctor ASAP. They did bloods and a stool sample, and nothing had come back apart from some slight tummy bug bacteria — this, we were told, is common, and passes through the system without treatment.

The doctor felt that she should run another test. Two weeks later, his calprotectin numbers came back and were extremely high. The doctor immediately sent through a referral letter to the paediatric gastroenterologist at The Townsville Hospital, Harvey had an appointment a few days later. We were told about the calprotectin results, and what might cause it. We were also told that Harvey needed a colonoscopy.

After the procedure, he received a positive diagnosis of mild to moderate UC. This was a hard pill to swallow for a 12 year old, and us as his parents. Harvey has begun medication, which has increased over time, and has undergone a course of steroids to combat a bad flare.

At the moment he is stable however it’s a scary illness, and I fear for his future.

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