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It’s been a long road for Bella Hadid, but the model is on her way to feeling healthy again after more than a decade spent dealing with ongoing health issues. On Aug. 5, Hadid shared two posts to her Instagram, featuring photos from her time in treatment for Lyme disease. Her first post included a caption discussing her health journey in detail, while her second post was devoted to thanking her dog for never leaving her side.
“The little me that suffered would be so proud of grown me for not giving up on myself,” Hadid’s post began. “Thankful to my mommy for keeping all of my medical records, sticking by me, never leaving my side, protecting, supporting, but most of all, believing me through all of this.”
Hadid was first diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012 when she was just 16. Her mother, Yolanda Hadid, and younger brother, Anwar Hadid, were also diagnosed with the disease. Over the years, the family have been candid about their journey. Yolanda even wrote a memoir titled “Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease.”
In her post, Hadid went on to discuss how difficult it has been to feel so sick, even as she knew she was surrounded by love and blessings in her life. Hadid continued, “Living in this state, worsening with time and work while trying to make myself, my family and the people who support me, proud, had taken a toll on me in ways I can’t really explain. To be that sad and sick with the most blessings/privilege/opportunity/love around me was quite possibly the most confusing thing ever.”
The model’s words were made all the more powerful by the photos she shared. In addition to posting snippets of her medical records outlining her symptoms, including chronic fatigue, depression, and achy joints, Hadid also shared photos of herself hooked up to IVs and visiting with doctors. But she also made it clear her photo choices were intentional. “I tried to pick the most positive pictures I could because as painful as this experience was, the outcome was the most enlightening experience of my life filled with new friends, new visions and a new brain,” she wrote.
Despite her struggles, Hadid was insistent that she wouldn’t change anything about her journey. She added, “The thing I want to express to you all is that 1: I am okay and you do not have to worry, and 2: I wouldn’t change anything for the world,” she wrote. “If I had to go through all of this again, to get here, to this exact moment I’m in right now, with all of you, finally healthy, I would do it all again. It made me who I am today.”
In her caption, Hadid wrote that she faced “100+ days of Lyme, chronic disease, co infection treatment” and “almost 15 years of invisible suffering” before getting to a place where she could begin to feel healthy again. And she’s not taking one moment for granted. She went on to add that it “was all worth it if I’m able to, God willing, have a lifetime of spreading love from a full cup, and being able to truly be myself, For the first time ever.”
Hadid concluded her post by thanking her fans, family, agents, and company for supporting her, every step of the way. In a separate post, she gave a special shout-out to her dog, who stayed with her throughout her treatment. “And God Bless my Angel Glizzy P. Beans aka Petunia aka Beans,” she wrote. “For never leaving my side not for one second.”
Read Hadid’s message about her health journey in full in the gallery ahead.