The pain felt like I had swallowed razor blades

VICTORIA JENKINS, 34, lives in London. She is a garment technologist and runs Unhidden, a fashion range for the disabled community.

I’VE suffered with intermittent stomach problems, such as bloating, since my early 20s. But whenever I saw a GP I’d be told it was probably irritable bowel syndrome and to just watch my diet.

But one day at work in 2012 I suddenly developed a sharp pain in my shoulder which spread to my stomach. It felt like I’d swallowed razor blades.

A few days later I went to hospital where they gave me a scan and, to my astonishment, I was told that I had a perforated ulcer in my small intestine. The ulcer had burst, and stomach acid was leaking out of my stomach into the surrounding area. It was burning me from the inside.

I was rushed into surgery to close the hole: stomach acid is so corrosive I was lucky it hadn’t damaged other organs.

I’d been warned before I went into theatre that I might wake up with a colostomy bag. The relief was overwhelming when I emerged to find this hadn’t happened. So, by comparison, discovering I had a 5 in scar with 24 staples in it from my sternum to my tummy button like an oversized zip was nothing.

I’ve had related health problems since — in 2015 I developed a diseased gall bladder which had to be removed by opening the top of my scar. The following year I had to have more surgery because my stomach wasn’t emptying properly, causing intense pain. The operations were done through the same scar, but thankfully it did seem to heal well each time.

I am registered disabled as I find it hard to walk because of my operations. Although the most important thing has been staying healthy, I used to feel self-conscious about my scar. Now, I regard it with a weird sense of pride: it’s a sign I’m looking forwards not backwards.

EXPERT COMMENT: Dr John Ashworth, a consultant dermatologist (dermatologist.co.uk), says: ‘Once a scar is over a year old, it’s unlikely to be improved by anything other than further surgery. But using a medical treatment, Haelan tape [the adhesive contains medication] can help. This is used for several weeks. The younger the scar the greater the chance of improvement. Another option is steroid injections to calm down inflammation.’