Man with Crohn's fulfils dream of becoming doctor

A man inspired to become a doctor after his own medical diagnosis has graduated and hopes to "give back" to the community.

Ali Sidat, 23 and from Walsall, is working at New Cross hospital in Wolverhampton after studying at the University of Birmingham.

Mr Sidat said being diagnosed with Crohn's disease at 14 years old gave him his motivation to help other people.

He said: "When I was speaking to the doctor and he told me the steps I’d got to take, I followed through with it, [and] it made me think that I wanted to help people who had got what I had."

Crohn's disease is a lifelong condition where parts of the digestive system become inflamed. Mr Sidat said stomach ache, weight loss, and fatigue were symptoms that at times interrupted his studies.

"The condition would impact me as I would have flare-ups and these would occur during times of stress. A lot of the times I would become unwell during exam season.

"During these times I would doubt myself and question whether a five-year course of medicine was for me as I knew it would be challenging," he said.

He described his condition as being so bad that one year his school attendance was as low as 78%.

"In my early life, I missed out on school trips, had poor attendance at school due to hospital visits, sickness, and I really had to work harder than my colleagues to get the grades I needed for medical school," he said.

His experience improved after he started treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and began new medication, a turning a point he also credits as motivating him to pursue a medical career.

Mr Sidat now wants to continue serving his home region in his specialism of gastroenterology.

He said: “I want to give back to my own community to help the people there."

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