Louise Thompson has announced the birth of her baby boy but said in a long social media post that she has been recovering from “various serious complications” and referred to a “dance with death twice”.
The Made In Chelsea star (31) gave birth to her son Leo-Hunter, with her partner Ryan Libbey, five weeks ago but explained they both suffered complications, with the baby being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and her in the adult ICU.
Thompson has now shared a message on social media to remind people to enjoy “every minute detail in life” and to “be grateful for good health” as she revealed she has been discharged and will spend Christmas at home.
The reality star shared a photo to Instagram of her newborn son sleeping and wrote in the caption: “Hello everyone, this post isn’t an easy one for me to write.
“I have so many things that I want to say but at the same time I’m struggling to find the words to explain what has happened to me and my family so for now I will keep it quite simple.
“The reason I have been absent for weeks is because I have been very unwell. 5 weeks ago I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy Leo-Hunter Libbey weighing in at 7lbs.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t the easiest start for either of us. One ended up in NICU and the other ended up in ICU.
“Whilst Leo made a fairly quick recovery, I have been recovering in hospital for a month with various serious complications.”
She continued: “In all honesty I never imagined that so many bad things could happen to me, but to dance with death twice brings a whole new view of the world – a stark reminder of how short and sacred life really is.
“We need to start living, we need to start loving, we need to start enjoying every minute detail in life (certainly easier said than done when you’re stuck in mental and/or physical purgatory or dealing with serious illness, depression or the fear of the unknown), but if you DO have the capacity, then try and cling onto any nuggets of good… and please please please be grateful for good health.
“The hard truth is that you don’t know how lucky you are to have it until it’s too late.
“The reality is that I am in a bit of a strange place mentally and physically and I might be for a while, but that’s just part of the me now and part of my recovery.
“It’s not going to be easy or linear but thankfully I am being offered some very valuable psychological help and the good news is that I’m starting to experience some good hours as well as bad ones. (Sometimes living hour by hour is your only option).
“I want to finish with some happy news, I have been given the green light and been discharged from hospital which means that I’m able to recover from the comfort of my own home for Christmas.
“For the first time in a month, I actually see a future where I get to live peacefully on this earth with my son.
“I can’t wait to start our new journey together as a family of 3 and to start bonding little baby Leo.”
Friends and famous faces offered their support to Thompson, including fellow reality stars Rosie Fortescue who wrote: “Love you tiny one and tiny Leo” and Pete Wicks who added: “Sending love to you, @ryan.libbey and baby Leo”.
Thompson has appeared in Made In Chelsea since its first series in 2011, progressing to become one of the E4 show’s main characters, while Libbey joined the cast in 2016 when the series was filming in the south of France.
The couple were engaged in 2018 after he proposed during a hiking trip in Los Angeles.
