A young entrepreneur with a rare lifelong brain condition is set to host an empowerment workshop for women as she is pushing herself to take on Strictly Inverness in tribute to her late grandfather.
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00:00 A couple of years back I got diagnosed with narcolepsy with cataplexy.
00:05 So this is a rare brain condition and this is something I was born with.
00:10 But individuals aren't normally diagnosed until their 20s due to hormonal imbalances.
00:16 But mine started when I was about 13.
00:19 I started having these attacks where I would fall to the ground and I couldn't move my body.
00:25 I'm afraid like what this was, like what has happened?
00:28 I went through loads of testing from 13 to 16.
00:31 I was in and out of hospital getting tests and then it came back with the diagnosis.
00:37 Because they'd never seen it in someone so young before.
00:41 So that, with narcolepsy, it normally lasts until you're about, until you hit menopause.
00:49 And then the hormonal change will kind of ease it off.
00:53 You'll still have it but it'll ease it off.
00:55 So it was a long time when they tell me that I'll have it until I hit menopause.
01:01 When I turned 17 I was desperate to drive.
01:04 I had about two driving lessons and then I got a letter back saying you're not allowed to drive anymore.
01:12 So that was very devastating. I wasn't, I was really upset about that.
01:17 And then just my independence as well.
01:21 There's been like a couple of situations where I felt like it was going to take away my independence.
01:28 Like there's been times when I do drop and pass out.
01:31 If I'm not on my side then I can't really breathe properly.
01:34 So someone's got to be there.
01:36 So it was situations like that I thought I would never be able to be independent and left on my own in situations.
01:43 But now I've been able to learn ways to control my condition, to support myself.
01:49 And now I can do stuff on my own independently.
01:52 I'm currently on two types of medication.
01:54 So one's to prevent my sleepiness so that I can function on a day to day basis without falling asleep.
02:01 And my second one's for my passing out so I'm not dropping to the floor and passing out every two minutes.
02:07 Getting diagnosed it was actually like a weight lifted off my shoulder just to have that clarification.
02:13 Like there is something there and it's not going to kill me.
02:18 And it is something I can live with and I found ways to learn to live with it.
02:23 It really took away my confidence and I definitely had really bad anxiety about going out in public and everything.
02:30 And when I got before my diagnosis at 16 this is when I made the decision to leave school because I was really embarrassed.
02:39 Because I didn't want anyone to see me having these attacks and see me falling on the ground.
02:44 And it was something really hidden and I didn't like telling people that this was because of it.
02:51 So I definitely spent the next year or so quite hidden away.
02:57 Didn't really go out much and everything.
02:59 But after my diagnosis and being able to be put on the right medication and find ways to help my condition.
03:06 Then I started getting into the gym and this is when it changed my whole life.
03:12 My dad's dad, my grandad, he passed away in the hospice before I got a chance to meet him.
03:17 He passed away when my dad was about 15.
03:20 So I'm kind of doing it in memory of him and with the family.
03:25 And growing up as a child we've always done so much with the hospice.
03:29 Because dad's always been supportive of it.
03:32 So I've helped out in runs and different things like giving out goodies and stuff.
03:39 So it's like just giving it back.
03:42 So as soon as I turned 18 I was like oh I want to do this Strictly thing.
03:45 So I applied.
03:47 I really want to show anyone else who's got any kind of medical conditions or lifelong conditions.
03:54 It's so challenging when you get diagnosed with these.
03:58 So I really want to show other individuals that you can literally do anything.
04:02 And your condition doesn't control you, you can control it.