Louise Thompson Marks One Year Without Surgeries or Hospital Stays After Near-Fatal Childbirth

Louise Thompson has celebrated making it to one year without having to undergo emergency surgery or be admitted to hospital, after being hit by a series of health setbacks following the birth of her son Leo in 2021.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 35, nearly died after undergoing an emergency C-section due to ‘serious complications’, during which she lost three-and-a-half litres of blood and spent five weeks in intensive care. 

As well as being left with PTSD and post-natal anxiety, she spent the next three years in and out of hospital with a serious of health problems.

Louise went ‘partially deaf’ during the ordeal and in 2022 revealed that she would cry up to 20 times a week, going on to be diagnosed with lupus – a condition affecting the immune system, causing joint pain, rashes and fatigue.

She was then forced to cut a trip to Antigua short and book an early flight home in February 2024 after ‘losing cupfuls of blood every 20 minutes’, before revealing that she had a ‘lifesaving’ stoma bag fitted after years of suffering from ulcerative colitis.

Her last health scare saw her rushed in for emergency surgery before going into septic shock in November last year, admitting at the time: ‘The world feels like it’s been a bit unkind to me again.’

Taking to her Instagram on Sunday, Louise marked making it 12 months since her last hospital dash, sharing a photo from last year revealing the toll that her many health battles had taken on her body and mental state.

Alongside a snap of her enjoying a celebratory dinner out with her fiancé Ryan Libbey, she explained: ‘We’re celebrating one year with no emergency surgeries and no hospital admissions and what a DIFFERENCE a year can make. 

‘A note for anyone currently in the trenches, if you’re struggling this Winter, remember: the hardest seasons shape the strongest souls.’

While the second shocking photo saw Louise posing in just her underwear for a mirror selfie a year ago, showing how emaciated she had become after battling a number of health issues and operations.

Looking back at the evidence of how far she had come, she wrote: ‘One year ago I had to start my journey back to health AGAIN. For the 4th time. But I did it. Don’t mistake your current struggle for a permanent state. If I can do it, you can too.’

Alongside the comparison pictures, the reality star shared a lengthy message to her fans, saying she wanted to ‘celebrate health’ in a bid to help anyone that was struggling at this time of year.

She insisted that her hardships had made her discover new capabilities within herself and become stronger, describing the process ‘hideous’ but also ‘clarifying’ and ‘very liberating’.

Louise penned: ‘What a difference a year can make, feeling proud x100. Wherever you are mentally, physically, emotionally – HOLD TIGHT!!! I’m celebrating health tonight.

‘Here’s the impetus. I shared one of my hopeful messages in the condensation on my bathroom window the other morning and so many of you jumped in to reply. A really significant number of you said that you ‘really needed to read it’…

‘So after A LOT of hesitation I felt like I should share this post (and a picture that might have me barred) because it might help someone on a cold or sad Sunday night.

‘First things first, I want you to know that if you’re struggling right now you’re not alone. I know a lot of people that are. 

‘Breaks ups, grief, financial struggles, trauma, mental health disorders. This time of the year is tough for me on a personal level and apparently it is for lots of you too.

‘Winter is hard. Many moons ago we would have been hiding/hibernating. Am I right?But now we are expected to push on. We are expected to live busy, fabulous, rub it in your face levels of success kinds of lives. ALL YEAR ROUND.

‘Well, I need you to know that societal pressures aside, the hardest seasons really do shape the strongest souls.’

She went on: ‘When you’ve been through something that cracks you open, it makes you discover capabilities you didn’t really know you had. I’ll go as far as to say it’s the ONLY time that this really happens. 

‘I’ve learnt everything I know in the last 4 years – endurance, courage, the ability to problem-solve, self-protection (+self preservation), knowledge, the ability to let go, and in droves.  

‘It’s NOT pleasant. It’s hideous in fact, BUT it is definitely clarifying. I had this strange epiphany a few years ago where I sat bolt up right in bed in the middle of the night, I stared at the ceiling and I knew that I’d already lived my life and that my destiny was predetermined. 

‘I had this overwhelming feeling that I’d completed life, and that nothing really mattered, nothing was serious and that I could do no right or wrong. Because of course I couldn’t. I was sort of irrelevant. 

‘Life is a big puzzle, so is this, and there is a time limit, so stop messing and don’t let it play you. It was very liberating.’

Louise went on to issue an encouraging message to her followers who were struggling, urging them to ‘see my messy life as a bit of a hopeful story’.

She wrote:  ‘Anyway, I don’t imagine many of you will understand that because it’s weird but I never would have experienced such enlightenment had I not gone through what I had.

‘So hang tight for the better times. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT mistake your current struggle for a permanent state. You will have these beautiful moments too. Your best days haven’t even happened to you yet. sometimes all you can do is play make believe with your future self. I did that for 24 months post traumatic birth with Leo.

‘And please see my messy life as a bit of a hopeful story. If you have a hopeful story out of the ashes of tragedy [sic] please do dm me or write it below.’

Reflecting on the photo of herself from last year, she admitted she was ‘cracked wide open’ at the time and ‘felt like death’, but had come through the other side. 

She said: ‘If you look at this picture of me from a year ago you’ll see that life was VERY different for me back then. (I could and should write a whole post on why people need to stop aspiring to be so thin, but I’ll save that for another lengthy caption). 

‘That was only a year ago. I was cracked wide open. Well cut open actually. I felt like death. I had to repair. Once again I’ve sought to repair better. I have big fat chinks, but I am much much smarter.

‘1 week, 1 month, 1 year, it can make a tremendous difference. I know people that have done a huge 180 in a 12 month period. So hang tight. Better days are coming.

‘The rank pit in your stomach. The hopelessness. You’ve survived it before and you’ll survive it again.’

Concluding the lengthy post, she revealed how she was celebrating her achievement, quipping: ‘On the note of survival I’m feeling particularly proud having just celebrated an ENTIRE YEAR without having some sort of ridiculous emergency hospital admission and it feels flipping amazing !!!!

‘I’ll be throwing myself a little party in the bath to celebrate tonight.’

Her celebratory post comes after Louise opened up about how the fall out from Leo’s birth, left her, Ryan and their son struggling to connect. 

Speaking on the RISE with Roxie Nafousi podcast last month, she confessed to struggling to navigate her first year of motherhood while dealing with numerous medical appointments. 

She said: ‘We weren’t really a family. I don’t think we had a single nice family moment. I wouldn’t call it a family. I don’t know what it was. 

‘It was three people, three babies that weren’t really able to do anything for themselves or one another. We were not in a good spot because I was so like, virtually just out of it and in my own head.’

Louise continued: ‘We didn’t have a routine. I think Ryan tried to have a routine with Leo, our son. 

‘I was only really holding him for like a minute at time at that stage. But my routine was medical appointments. So that was the thing I was holding onto. 

‘So I had basically booked in, either I had NHS or private appointments every single day. And if I look, because actually there was, there’s like, you my calendar, if I look back, was just mental health appointments to get through to the next day. 

‘And it was the crisis team, I guess, that were the best ones to lend the support to bridge the gap until I could start thinking a bit more normally.’