The story of Elle
My name is Elle, I am an Actress and International Makeup Artist.
I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Elhers Danlos type 3 and Gastroesophageal reflux disease around the age of 15 – 17. I was lucky enough to have attended full time theatre school from age 9 to 16 but in my last two years I started to notice some pretty dramatic changes in my body. I was used to exercising all day, dancing and acting were always a part of my life from a very young age but I quickly became chronically fatigued, breathless to the point of passing out. I also started having painful heart palpitations and dislocations. It took a few years to get a full diagnosis, many people weren’t particularly aware of these conditions including medical professionals.
My health conditions are unfortunately not curable but over a few years of great specialist medical care and a change of lifestyle, my conditions are completely manageable with minimal flare ups. I have been able to achieve goals that I wasn’t sure were even possible at the time of my diagnosis.
10 years on I have managed to work within both the acting and makeup artist industries which were my original focus and goals prior to diagnosis. I have even learnt to horse ride which is something that I dreamed of when I was younger.
I was so scared during my initial flare ups that achieving these just wouldn’t be possible. Not only because of how bad I felt physically and mentally but I barely saw anyone in my chosen profession that looked and physically related to what I was going through.
I really hope in doing so that I can represent people with invisible illness and be the person to others that I looked out for when I was struggling. Something we can wear with pride. It’s given me so much more empathy and understanding which is invaluable in my opinion and I wouldn’t have it any other way!