After landing in ICU and being fed through a tube, Lisa Neville raises awareness about Crohn’s disease

Lisa Neville’s relentless work ethic was ultimately her undoing. Now she’s opened up about the condition that put her in ICU and meant she needed 192 days off work.

Senior Victorian Government Minister Lisa Neville wants to encourage open conversations about Crohn’s disease, and its invisible but chronic impact on lives.

That’s because for 33 years the Bellarine MP has fought the condition, sometimes trying to push through it resulting in serious consequences.

“It is a disease that can kill. It is a disease that (leads to) higher rates of bowel cancer and, as I saw, can result in major surgery,” Ms Neville told the Geelong Advertiser as she returned to work on Monday.

A serious Crohn's flare up in February due to an inflamed bowel put Ms Neville off work for 192 days and required multiple hospital stays, a week in intensive care at Geelong’s St John of God Hospital, and two surgeries, including one to remove 30cm of her small intestine.

At times her condition was so severe she was fed through a tube.

About 5000 people in the Geelong region go about their lives with inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohn's.

Lisa Neville returns to work after battling Crohns disease.

The condition involves the immune system attacking parts of the digestive tract and can leave those struck down with it needing to find the nearest toilet at embarrassing intervals.

Ms Neville’s gastroenterologist Lauren Beswick said Crohn's symptoms included abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fatigue and a lack of energy and described Ms Neville’s condition as “severe.”

“Particularly this year, it’s been challenging for our team and her to overcome.

“We are in an improving place for Lisa but this is going to affect her for her entire life.”

Ms Neville’s surgeon Darrin Goodall-Wilson said her Crohn's was severe because she’d overlooked it.

“She had a chronic narrowing of her bowel that meant she couldn’t eat properly,” Dr Goodall-Wilson said.

“She put up with her sickness for a lot longer than most people would.”

With Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews looking on, Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville speaks at a press conference in 2020. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

He said after her latest episode there was a “30 to 40 per cent” chance Ms Neville’s condition would flare up.

Ms Neville’s ongoing treatment will include weekly injections of the biological drug Humira to combat inflammation, infusions every three weeks, blood tests and regular anti-diarrhoea tablets.

Ms Neville said: “I won’t let what happen last time happen again which was to ignore it and keep going.”

She said Crohn's was a serious, painful, debilitating and chronic disease.

“There are a lot of side effects all of which you don’t see.”

Ms Neville wants those who suffer in silence with Crohn's to have honest conversations with their employers and others.

“It’s not an easy topic to talk about. It's about really trying to encourage people that it’s not something you can see.

“I want to be around for my son. I don’t want to cut my life short because of the Crohn's. “I’ve got to make sure I try, as best as I can, to manage a disease that never goes away.”

Back to work for many years to come

Police Minister Lisa Neville says she’s fit, firing and ready to defend Victoria against the onslaught of Covid after returning to work from a six-month lay-off because of Crohn’s disease.

Daily cabinet meetings including briefings on health advice, emerging Covid outbreaks and modelling of worst-case scenarios will be a feature of Ms Neville’s work day.

“My experience from last year and earlier this year is that (the) advice (we receive) is very robust. The decision to lockdown is taken very seriously,” Ms Neville, the Bellarine MP, said.

“We’ve got to do what we can to keep our numbers down to stop people dying.”

Ms Neville, who returned to work on Monday, revealed her “intention” to run for a sixth parliamentary term at the November 2022 election.

But before that there’s a mountain of work to get through to steer the state from the grips of Covid, she said.

Ms Neville will oversee construction and implementation of the state’s quarantine facility at Mickleham due to operate from December.

In recent weeks her recovery has allowed periodic briefings to get her “work fit.”

But there were times during the 192-day lay-off when Ms Neville thought she might not return.

“When I was in ICU and had the second surgery there was a time I thought ‘was I going to be able to recovery but also was it the right thing to (return to work)’.”

Ms Neville said she’s now conscious about taking short breaks during her work day, eating well and exercising daily.

“There’s a bit of trepidation when you’ve been away from work for a while. But I’m excited to be back into it. I’ve got to keep the balance right so (a long lay-off) doesn’t happen again.”

Premier Daniel Andrews said: “Lisa has shown enormous strength and resilience through her recovery from surgery and treatment for Crohn’s disease, and I know how determined she has been to return to work.”

Ms Neville has taken a step back from some duties, handing over the emergency services portfolio to Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes.

But as the co-ordinating minister of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Ms Neville will oversee the Victoria’s handling of the Murray-Darling Basin and water sustainability.

She said across Geelong there was an extensive program of capital works either underway or about to start.

She said that included the Convention Centre, City Deal projects, the Kardinia Park redevelopment, and schools, playgrounds, skate parts and a sporting facility in her electorate.

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Originally published as After landing in ICU and being fed through a tube, Lisa Neville raises awareness about Crohn’s disease