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When Jake Clark was 18 months old, he suddenly became scared of using the bathroom.
His parents and doctors suspected it was because Jake had “tried going once and it had caused him pain,” so afterward, “he just didn’t want to do it anymore. I think what he’d done must have really traumatized him because after that every time he needed the toilet he would scream and cry and wouldn’t let you anywhere near him.”
What began initially as mild constipation that could be treated with medication slowly grew into a much larger problem that included Jake simply refusing to pass stools for four months straight and being admitted to the doctors three times. One of these visits occurred because Jake had started vomited feces.
Jake’s doctors monitored his condition for over three years and finally decided, when Jake was five years old, that there was little else they could do aside from fit him with a colostomy bag. Jake’s bowel had become overstretched due to his refusal to use the bathroom and could no longer support his body.
Just before the four-hour procedure, Jake’s mom, Carrie Brocklebank, took a photo of Jake’s stomach, knowing that it would be the last time her son’s abdomen would be “scar-free.” During the procedure, doctors spent two and a half hours cleaning Jake’s bowel before fitting the colostomy bag to his body.
After the procedure, Jake was extremely embarrassed by the bag and tried to hide it from his family. His mother, now concerned that her son was suffering from greater psychological issues than she’d first imagined, fitted herself with a “pretend” colostomy bag in hopes of boosting her son’s self-confidence.
Brocklebank is now in the process of bringing Jake in to other doctors to get tested for autism and other sensory issues to determine the cause of his intense fears. She is also trying to raise awareness of the severity of childhood constipation and push against the stigma of having a colostomy bag.
For more information about this condition, take a look at the campaign the children’s continence charity, ERIC, recently launched: “Let’s Talk About Poo.”
