West Midlands Police officer given 'armour' for stoma bag

A police officer who had his colon removed is set to return to work in the new year thanks to protective titanium "armour".

PC Mark Woodcock is a traffic officer with West Midlands Police and tweets about life with ulcerative colitis.

The 33-year-old, from Leicester, was fitted with a stoma bag in the summer.

He is still awaiting a second major operation, but hopes the specialist armour plate will allow him to return to front-line duties soon.

PC Woodcock said shielding for much of the year had left him feeling "like a prisoner in my own home" and was keen to get back to work.

He was 28 and had just got married when he was first diagnosed with ulcerative colitis - a chronic condition that leaves the colon and rectum inflamed.

The NHS said it affected about 146,000 people in the UK and can have a significant impact on everyday lives.

The 33-year-old said his first "flare up" in 2017 kept him off work for three months.

"On my worst days I would make 15 trips to the toilet with bloody diarrhoea, constant fatigue, mouth ulcers and swollen joints," he said.

Earlier this year he faced a choice of another course of medication with a 20% chance of working or to have his colon removed.

"I was in hospital on my own [due to Covid-19] and had to make this life-changing decision on FaceTime with my wife," PC Woodcock said.

In the end he underwent an ileostomy, which saw his small intestine diverted through an opening - or stoma - in the abdomen. A bag was then placed over the stoma to collect liquid and waste.

"After two days I started to feel better," he said, "all the symptoms had gone, and I felt amazing."

He started a Twitter account in October and said he had been in touch with other police officers around the country who have stomas and said it had "really inspired" him and "accelerated" his recovery.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]