AN X Factor legend has given fans a health update on her 15-year-old son after revealing that he’d been diagnosed with a life-changing disability.
Sam Bailey, who rose to fame when she won the tenth edition of the ITV talent contest in 2013, told how her lad, Tommy, has epilepsy.
The mum-of-three, 46, revealed the teen, who has autism, discovered he had it been undergoing several NHS tests.
The star took to social media and wrote: “I’d like to thank Leicester Hospitals for being so amazing the last few days with my son.
“He has been officially diagnosed with epilepsy. I want to thank Young Epilepsy for all this support. It’s been a very challenging time. But I want to thank you for all your support.”
This came after Sam opened up about Tommy’s difficult transition from primary to secondary school.
Speaking to GB News, the singer said: “I knew the transition from primary school to secondary school was going to be difficult for him.
“And I think as parents we were kind of in denial that there was anything untoward that was different or anything and we were told that he would really struggle and to get a diagnosis.
“I actually went private to get his diagnosis and by doing that it was a quicker process, but after that diagnosis was the hard part because you have to kind of prove that he can’t be in a mainstream school. He would bang his head against the wall.
“He really, really struggled at school.”
Sam, who was relieved to receive the support she needed at the hospital, had previously encountered doctors who didn’t take the matter seriously.
She sought help when Tommy stayed out of school for 18 months and expressed thoughts of taking his own life, only to be turned away once again.
Sam said: “So it was a really, really tough time and I went to the doctors on my own and said to the doctors, I’m really concerned about my son. I said I’m really concerned about my son, because of how he’s been.
“I was like, you know, he’s saying some stuff and they said that we can’t deal with this.
“There needs to be autism outreach and they turned me away. I’ve got a letter to say that the GP turned my son away because he was feeling low and told.”
