Debbie-Lyn Connolly Lloyd’s journey to the final of the Ms Curvaceous UK modelling contest was not an easy one. In July 2022, just after entering the contest, the plus-size model from Southport started to feel numbness in her legs. She was soon paralysed from the waist down with no feeling in her legs. After a series of tests, she was finally diagnosed with functional neurological disorder, a brain network disorder that can encompass a diverse range of neurological symptoms, including limb weakness, paralysis, seizures, walking difficulties, spasms, twitching, sensory issues and more.
The diagnosis left her not wanting to leave the house as her world “collapsed”. “I was embarrassed. I couldn’t carry on in my job as a model and make-up artist as my hands now shake. But I knew it was important to keep doing things.” She started an online clothes store for plus-sized women, which proved so successful, she has since opened a shop in her hometown. Slowly, her confidence grew and her determination to stay involved in the fashion industry remained strong.
Although unsure about the Ms Curvaceous UK competition, Debbie-Lyn rang the organisers to withdraw. But after chatting with them, she changed her mind and decided she would continue. “I decided that I was going to attend, wheelchair or no wheelchair,” she says. To her surprise, she was chosen from over 2,000 entrants to compete in the final, which will take place in December. “I’m proud that I’ve got to this stage and I’ve not let anything stand in the way.”
She says her partner Mark and her four children, who are now aged eight, 12, 14, and 18, were very supportive and urged her to keep following her dreams. “I don’t want to stop, and I think it’s even more important to carry on with a message of inclusion and representation. I have pushed through such difficult times and shown my children that we never give up, whatever comes our way.” Debbie-Lyn says that despite her challenges, her journey has allowed her to show her children “the importance of never giving up.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More