Miss Universe Australia finalist says she was a ‘happy, healthy’ 20-year-old when she woke up struggling to walk before the diagnosis changed her life: ‘I’ve never been so scared’
Maddison Cottle has revealed that she was stricken with a serious illness when she was just 20 years old.
The 22-year-old Miss Universe Australia finalist woke up one morning with difficulty walking before being diagnosed with MS.
“I was 10 months into my first business venture. I was a happy, healthy 20-year-old,” she tells me. The Herald Sun.
“One morning I woke up and I was limping for no reason. I hadn’t injured myself, nothing like that.
‘I thought it was quite strange, but I let it go for a while, but it didn’t get any better.’
Maddison Cottle (pictured) has revealed that she was stricken with a serious illness at the age of 20. The 22-year-old Miss Universe Australia finalist woke up one morning with difficulty walking before being diagnosed with MS
After undergoing an MRI, she soon received a life-changing diagnosis.
“The worst phone call I ever received was that phone call confirming I had MS,” she says.
“I thought ‘how could this happen to me?’ I’ve never been so afraid of what my future might look like.’
The model now manages her condition with medication and has experienced “no further deterioration” since taking immune-suppressing drugs.
She is using her experience to spread awareness and was flooded with support after sharing her story with her Instagram followers earlier this week.
“In just 48 hours, my story reached over 300,000 people and I received hundreds of messages from people who have received or are undergoing a medical diagnosis,” she wrote.
“I was 10 months into my first business venture, I was a happy, healthy 20-year-old,” she tells The Herald Sun. “One morning I woke up and I was limping for no reason. I hadn’t injured myself, nothing like that’
After undergoing an MRI, she soon received a life-changing diagnosis. “The worst phone call I ever received was that phone call confirming I had MS,” she says
Sharing my story was scary, it took me two years to be ready to be so vulnerable in the hopes of making a difference in at least one person’s life. Instead, I have reached hundreds of thousands of people.
‘This is just the beginning. Why me? Here’s why,” Maddison concluded.
In the autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks the protective layer of the brain and spine, slowly shutting down the body’s communication systems.
It develops when the immune system begins to attack the body’s myelin — a protective covering around important parts of the central nervous system, such as the brain and spine.
“I thought ‘how could this happen to me?’ I’ve never been so scared of what my future might look like,” the beauty added
Over time, the nervous system begins to break down. This causes a person to slowly lose motor function throughout their body.
Many patients become partially or completely paralyzed after battling the disease for years.
Other symptoms included seizures, vision problems including blindness, mental health problems and cognitive decline.
While it may seem young, symptoms usually begin between a person’s 20 and 40 years of age. It can take some time for doctors to diagnose it.
Symptoms include brain fog, numbness and tingling in the legs, vision loss, migraines, and walking difficulties.
She is using her experience to spread awareness and was flooded with support after sharing her story with her Instagram followers earlier this week
