Yolanda Foster, part of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, gets real about herself and her children at the Global Lyme Alliance Inaugural Gala held over the weekend. Yolanda, who has been diagnosed with Lyme disease also reveals that her children, models Bella and Anwar Hadid carry it as well. The disease is a bacterial infection spread via tick bites and leads to different ailments including migraines, fever, and joint pains. When left untreated, it can spread through the nervous system causing memory loss and inability to perform everyday tasks.
The mother, who has been active in spreading awareness of the disease, received the Power of One award during the gala for her efforts. In her acceptance speech, she talked about her children’s condition. “When my two youngest children, Bella and Anwar, were diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in early 2012, watching my babies struggle in silence in order to support me in my journey, struck the deepest core of hopelessness inside of me,” she says.
She then continues, “This award is for Anwar and Bella. This is my token and my promise to you that I will not allow you to live a life of pain and suffering. I will walk to the end of the earth to find a cure so that you can live a healthy life that you deserve. No child should suffer the way that you do.”
Yolanda has been very vocal about the effects of the disease in her blog, citing how she has “lost the ability to read, write, and even watch TV.”
On the other hand, Gigi Hadid talks about her family’s condition in tears. “It’s been really hard for me because I am the only one who doesn’t really understand it,” she says.
In the past 12 years, the number of Lyme disease cases has quadrupled worldwide and continues to be a puzzle in the medical research as there is no known clear treatment for the disease.
Other celebrities who suffer from the disease include Avril Lavigne, who admitted that she was bed-ridden for five months due to the condition.
Photo courtesy of Just Jared