Bella Hadid Opens Up About Living With A Chronic Illness
Supermodel Bella Hadid recently took to her Instagram page to share how she's taking IV infusions because she has Lyme disease. Just like half her family, the twenty-four-year-old was diagnosed with chronic Lyme borreliosis in 2012.
In fashion and modeling, Isabella Khair Hadid, popularly known as Bella Hadid, needs no introduction. She is born to a Dutch mother and a Palestinian father, and the supermodel is now one of the most popular faces in the American fashion industry and globally.
The model, who has won several modeling awards, began her career the same year she discovered the disease. She had to give up her lifelong dream of being a rider and going to the Olympics because of the symptoms, making it difficult for her to ride.
Bella On Lyme Disease
Struggling with the disease and being a model has not been a walk in the park for Bella. There are days when she struggles to get out of bed because of her symptoms.
"Life isn't always what it looks like on the outside, and the hardest part of this journey is to be judged by the way you look instead of the way you feel."
Having to live with the auto-immune disease, Bella still has to have time for her IV infusions. Her symptoms often range from headaches, dizziness, insomnia, anxiety, confusion, nausea, eating disorders, and joint pain, among other things.
What Is Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is said to be transmitted through bites from infected ticks. The condition can affect several organs and cause various complaints that are not always easy to classify. It typically has three stages: The first symptom is a circular reddening of the skin, which slowly increases in diameter and fades in the middle, days to weeks after the tick bite.
Also, there are often fever, muscle, and joint pain. As the stage progresses, the Borrelia attacks the nervous system and causes paralysis or sensory disorders. If Lyme borreliosis goes into the chronic phase, joint inflammation, skin changes, and brain and spinal cord inflammation rarely occur.
Her Future Plans
Even though being a professional equestrian rider has been ruled out, Bella is not giving up on chasing her passions. Lyme disease or not, Bella dreams big and knows that one day she will retire from modeling.
Bella Hadid has plans to go back to school to study fashion photography. She also plans to make a career out of it. She began studying the course in 2014 at the Parsons School of Design before taking a break to pursue her budding modeling career.