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Jack Fitzwater on colitis diagnosis: "People are actually normalising it"

The footballer, who plays for Exeter City, tells 5 Live how his colitis diagnosis was received by family and friends.

Jack Fitzwater, who plays for League One side Exeter City, tells 5 Live about how the response he鈥檚 had since going public with his colitis diagnosis.

At first he hid his frequent bathroom trips, but it was after a family holiday in Ibiza last summer that he reached breaking point and spoke to a GP who diagnosed him with severe ulcerative colitis.

Colitis is a condition where the rectum and colon become inflated, often leading to bloody recurring diarrhoea.

When Jack went public in February, after help from an old school friend turned 蜜芽传媒 journalist, he was surprised to hear some of his followers had experienced the same things.

"I've had so many other sports people, friends, family members and just general public message me and actually say 'I've been to the doctors to go and get seen, I've had these symptoms or living with this for years.

"Some of them are people I've known for sort of half my life and I didn't have a clue about it", he conceded.

Jack's teammates are speaking to him about it too, something Jack admits wouldn't have happened "a year or two ago".

"People are actually normalising it and taking that stigma away", he finished.

This clip was originally from Naga Munchetty on 28 February 2024.

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Me, My Health and I

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