The mum of a young schoolboy who is adapting to life with a stoma after years of feeling unwell has praised the care and treatment he received.
Ashley Guild, 31, told how eight-year-old Joey was constantly being sick and losing weight due to a problem with his stomach and bowel.
The family, from Airdrie, had repeated trips to hospital that resulted in long stays and Joey had to take long periods off school because he was so unwell.
Joey was referred to the Surgical Team in Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow. He required surgery to create a stoma. After his stoma surgery, Paediatric Gastrostomy and Stoma Clinical Nurse Specialist Louise Paterson and the Stoma Nursing Team helped to support Joey and his mum with all aspects of his stoma care in hospital and once at home.
Last week Joey received a special ‘stoma bear’ from the charity A Bear Named Buttony, which makes toys and storybooks to help young children feel less alone when they have to have a stoma.
Last week Joey received a special ‘stoma bear’ from the charity A Bear Named Buttony, which makes toys and storybooks to help young children feel less alone when they have to have a stoma.
The Aberdeenshire-based charity was set up by Jenny Gow MBE 10 years ago after her own daughter Eilidh, now 28, had to have a surgery to create a stoma at the age of three.
Buttony the bear is designed to help children adapt to life with a stoma as it has one too.
Joey’s bear marked a special milestone for A Bear Named Buttony, with it being the 7,000th one they have given out.
Ashley said: “Joey’s condition had become really debilitating. We think the issues were there since birth but got particularly bad over the two years leading up to his operation.
“Joey was vomiting multiple times a week, he was never able to do a full week at school, he was tired, thin, and continuing to lose weight because he was sick all the time, and he was having a lot of accidents.
“Since he had the operation to get the stoma it has been like night and day – he’s doing so well now.
“The care he has received from Louise and the team at the RHC has been amazing, they’ve looked after Joey so well and now he’s a happy healthy boy who is back at school full time and spending time with his friends.
“He’s got more energy and is able to be the character that he is.
“They’ve also really helped us adapt as a family and now we are pros when it comes to changing the stoma bag.”
She added: “Joey is delighted to receive his Buttony Bear. It’s such a lovely idea and even nicer to know it was started by a family who went through a similar experience to the one we are now.”
Around 20,000 people in Scotland have a stoma, which is an opening into the abdomen connected to the digestive or urinary system to allow waste to be diverted out of the body.
In Joey’s case, he is still undergoing tests to determine what caused him to need one.
A Bear Named Buttony works to reduce the stigma around having a stoma and to make children feel more comfortable and reassured that they are not alone in having one.
Jenny said: “To gift bear number 7,000 is an exciting achievement for the charity and we are delighted that it is going to a child in Glasgow.
“This comes as we mark 10 years since the charity started, and we are so pleased that we have been able to help so many families and children during this period.
“The charity is about so much more than ‘just’ a bear. We donate story books, colouring books, young adult packs and resources to support the work of stoma nurses.”
Louise, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Paediatric Gastrostomy and Stoma Clinical Nurse Specialist, said: “It’s fantastic to see the huge benefits Joey has had since having his stoma surgery last year.
“Our service is privileged to have had close links with Jenny and the Buttony Bear charity over the past 10 years.
“We are hugely proud of Jenny and her family as they have first-hand experience of what other families are now going through, and founded the Buttony charity because of their experience.
“Buttony helps bring a huge smile to our patients and families who are going through stoma surgery.
“We can’t thank the charity enough for all the help and support they provide for our children and families and for positively promoting stoma awareness.”
