Jack Spallin is determined to help the search for a Crohn’s disease cure

AN Arsenal supporter has talked frankly about his decade-long battle with Crohn’s disease as he prepares for a sponsored run around the Gunners’ football stadium.

Jack Spallin hopes his one-hour challenge will raise money for the Crohn’s and Colitis UK charity which is searching for a cure for the bowel disease that turned his life upside down.

“I went from this super-active fit kid to this person who just literally couldn’t get out of bed,” the 26-year-old told the Tribune.

Before falling ill, his life had centred on sports. He loved athletics and cricket, but football was his world. Mr Spallin played semi-­professionally and even had a trial at Arsenal.

But when the symptoms started, his life changed.

“I stopped playing football, got really depressed, had really bad anxiety because I didn’t want to leave the house in case I had an accident,” he said. “I just got really withdrawn. It was quite dark.”

One in 650 people are diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in the UK. The lifelong condition causes ulcers and inflammation in the digestive tract. Patients suffer excruciating stomach pain, ­diarrhoea and tiredness.

Some people, including Mr Spallin’s mother Tracy, may only experience a handful of episodes in their life. But, sadly, Mr Spallin has suffered from continuous flare-ups since his first symptoms.

During his second week of college he was confined to his bed, unable to eat and in extreme pain. He was so unwell that he couldn’t attend classes for seven months and eventually had to drop out.

Jack has endured countless hospital visits over the past 10 years

Without qualifications and with his body ­weakened by steroid medication, Mr Spallin was forced to give up his dream of becoming a PE teacher. And the ­disease’s painful symptoms also affected his social life.

“When you’re that age you want to talk to girls, you want to go out with your mates, but I didn’t want to go anywhere in case I had an accident,” he said.

The past 10 years have been filled with countless hospital visits, invasive surgery and a lack of sports participation, but Mr Spallin is now on the mend and the ‘Adidas city run’ he has planned for October marks a milestone in his recovery.

Tracy said: “For him to have the confidence to go out and do that is just fantastic. A year ago he wouldn’t have even thought about running up the garden.”

She added: “He’s back to his normal self. It’s lovely to see him now. He’s our son again.”

The race will be the biggest sporting event Mr Spallin has done since his Crohn’s diagnosis.

He is currently working hard with a personal trainer and goes to four sessions in the gym every week.

He chose the event because of its route around the Emirates ­Stadium, adding he still remembers watching his first Arsenal match in the stands as a seven-year-old and that it will be “nostalgic”.

Mr Spallin comes from a family of Gooners: grandparents, parents and younger brother Lewis are all Arsenal fans.

“You don’t want to be in my house when they’re playing Tottenham,” joked Tracy.

To sponsor Jack’s Emirates run, visit https://uk.gofundme.com/f/out-for-a-jog-instead-of-on-the-bog