‘Admirable’ 24-year-old ‘overwhelmed’ by fundraiser after battling challenging health problems for nine years

An “admirable” 24-year-old from Northampton is “extremely overwhelmed” by the generous response to a fundraiser, set up by her best friend to enable her to make memories after battling health problems for the past nine years.

Lauren Kelly was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just 15 years old, which causes inflammation in the lower end of the digestive system.

The 24-year-old has endured multiple invasive treatments over the past nine years, including chemotherapy, but sadly none were successful in putting Lauren into remission.

This led to the perforation of her bowel, sending her into an episode of sepsis and needing an ileostomy – a stoma bag in which internal waste leaves her body.

At 20 years old, Lauren underwent further major surgery to make her ileostomy permanent and this unfortunately led to another septic episode.

Following multiple more major abdominal surgeries, with errors made, Lauren was diagnosed with intestinal failure. As a result, she is now completely dependent on all nutrition and medication being fed through a central line to her heart.

Over the past year, the 24-year-old has experienced a number of septic shock episodes due to infections in her central line – which has seen her spend 16 of the last 18 months in hospital, many in intensive care. The most recently septic shock directly in her bowel cannot be reversed.

In her most recent admission, Lauren received the “absolutely devastating news” that medical professionals would place one last central line and when it goes septic, no more treatment will be provided and she will be placed on end of life care.

Lauren has not managed to last longer than two-and-a-half months without sepsis in her central line, meaning she is now in palliative care and her time left is “short and uncertain”.

Lauren’s best friend Chloe said: “Lauren has fought against her illnesses and sepsis for so long and in such an admirable way. We are all so proud of her and what she’s managed to achieve despite having the odds against her.

“I’ve set up this GoFundMe page to help towards giving Lauren and her loved ones some precious final memories without having to worry about costs, as this is a very difficult time for them all.

“Due to Lauren’s health she has been unable to work and her close family have had to take a lot of time off, so any little help towards costs will hopefully make a huge amount of difference and mean the world to Lauren and her loved ones – so she can focus on living the rest of her limited time left with everyone.”

More than £6,000 has already been raised, far exceeding the £200 target set.

Talking to the Chronicle & Echo, Lauren was asked how it made her feel when she found out Chloe had set up the online fundraising page for her and her loved ones.

“I felt extremely overwhelmed,” she said. “I never imagined anything like that and certainly not the response the page has brought. She knew I wanted to go on a small caravan holiday with my family and that’s where the £200 target came from. I’m absolutely overwhelmed and gobsmacked.”

Lauren said she and Chloe first met 11 years ago through mutual friends and shared a love of sport when they were younger – which drew them close to one another very quickly.

The 24-year-old cannot believe more than £6,000 has been raised, which will help her do day trips with her family and fund a new wheelchair.

She said: “I can’t walk far. It helps a lot with being able to get a new wheelchair as I don’t tend to leave the house. I’ll be able to help walk the dogs. That’s just huge.

“I’m overwhelmed with everyone’s kind messages and it’s going to have a huge impact on mine and my family’s lives.”

Lauren bravely spoke through what she has endured over the past nine years. She described her initial diagnosis as a “really difficult time” as not only was she having to manage the symptoms, but tackle her GCSE studies and exams too. It had also taken more than a year to get that initial diagnosis.

Despite her struggles and spending most of that time in hospital, Lauren achieved all A and A* grades at GCSE level.

Lauren’s mother has Crohn’s disease, a long-term condition where the gut becomes inflamed, and she says she understood her own illnesses more as she had seen what her mother goes through.

“The treatments were very difficult,” she said. “You get on well leading up but not afterwards. It completely knocks you out.

“My bowel perforated in January 2019 and it completely changed my life. Everything went downhill very quickly, with my health declining and the limitation on what I could do and my mobilisation. I started needing a lot of assistance with things and relying on the people around me.”

It was the back-to-back operations that left Lauren with scar tissue and led to the diagnosis of intestinal failure – which was the start of her nutrition being delivered through a central line and the permanent stoma bag.

Having spent 10 of the past 12 months in hospital, back and forth with sepsis in intensive care, Lauren said: “Without friends and family, I wouldn’t have managed to get through any of it. From a physical side where they take up being a carer while working full-time, to being an advocate for me.

“It’s a lot more than knowing they are there for me, it’s relying on them to keep you going. It’s things you don’t expect to rely on others for at 24 years of age.

“It’s certainly been difficult and there have been patches where it’s felt impossible, but that’s what’s kept me going – emotionally, physically and mentally.

“To get through each of these unknown admissions and to fight for your life, I couldn’t have done it alone.

“Having a massive army of people fighting beside you makes you realise how strong you really are. You don’t realise your strength until you need to use it.”

Admirably, despite everything she has gone through, Lauren has helped others struggling with their own health problems through an Instagram page over the past few years.

As well as documenting her own health updates, she is there to speak to others and help them through their health challenges.

To make a donation to Lauren’s fundraising page, click here – and you can access her Instagram page @invisble_illnesses here.