A Nottinghamshire mum has opened up about her 15-year-long health battle and the impact it has had on her life. Natalie Maltby, from Carlton, was just 25 when she was diagnosed with a bowel disease in 2007 and had to receive life-saving surgery - and she was recently told she had Crohn's disease.
READ MORE: Nurse admits 'delays' and 'gaps' in care of popular Nottinghamshire market trader before death She said: "Once I was stabilised and able to eat, I was moved off TPN onto IV fluids and discharged, having two litres of fluids a night, seven nights a week. Sadly, as the years went on my health deteriorated further and I had to give up my job as a HR manager and it was a struggle coping with two young children and the challenges my illness presented.
"In 2020 I also suffered my first bowel obstruction and, after narrowly avoiding surgery, I started on TPN again. In the last two years, I've had multiple bowel obstructions and been diagnosed with Crohn's disease. "I still sit down at the table at dinner time as it's one of the rare times we are all together as a family and it’s an opportunity for me to talk with my now teenage children.
The council house and Greens Windmill will both be lit up in green to mark the start of Home Artificial Nutrition awareness week which runs for the first week of August following an appeal from Natalie. She also says the charity PINNT, which provides support for patients and families on home artificial nutrition , has been "incredibly supportive".