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Chron’s

3 replies

Whowhatwherewhenwhy1 · 11/05/2023 14:37

My 12 year old son has been ill for 18 months. Getting paler and thinner, constant bouts of uncontrollable diarrhoea, feeling sick all the time, vomiting if he eats and only ever managing a few bites of food at a time. We have been to the drs many times and told it was ibs, constipation, tummy bugs, school anxiety, laziness, etc etc. it is none of these. We finally saw a different more experienced dr who believes my son has Chron’s and possibly a heart condition as he has episodes of becoming pale and clammy with a v high heart rate. He is now having lots of tests and referrals. I am so happy we are finally getting somewhere but so upset that he has missed out on so much and felt and been so ill and let down by the drs until now. Both he and I were made to feel we were making too much fuss. At least now we will get answers. My question is that he has had awful school attendance this year - about 70%. The school do jot seem to care and this time he has been off for a fortnight and there has been no contact. What reasonable adjustments can I ask them to make so he can try and manage school? Should they be putting together a plan with me so that we can know and access the work he is missing when he is unable to attend? Presently he is unlikely to improve his attendance before the end of this school year but I am more than happy and willing to work with him at home but the school do not-seem keen to engage. I do not want him to lose interest or disengage as he has already discovered that he cannot follow his dream career path now. The RAF has been his focus and dream i need to keep him focussed so he can see there are other options and paths. Any advice?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
HandsInTheCookieJar · 12/05/2023 10:59

sorry to hear about your son OP, that sounds awful for both of you.

It could be worth looking into some sort of support plan with the school for him, or at the very least, having a meeting with the head of school/head of his year to make sure that his teachers are aware of his condition, that might make him feel less pressured if he does miss school. Also, if he’s having toilet troubles, making the teachers aware that he needs to go at any time throughout the lesson might help too. If the school are not supportive then I’d make as much fuss as possible to get their attention. As for home schooling, I think it’s a good idea to set a sode an hour or two when he can’t go to school as an alternative, hopefully the school would provide some material for him?

RagingWoke · 12/05/2023 11:04

I think I would request a meeting with the head and head of year to talk about a support plan and explain his condition(s).

If you are ok social media there are a lot of good pages to follow for advice on crohns. There is an insta account by a girl around your sons age, crohns can't stop us, that he might find useful to see her journey.

Remmy123 · 12/05/2023 21:40

Please join the Facebook group called 'UK parents with kids with IBD people on there that can help with getting a diognosis and school issues xx

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