The Hadid siblings reveal they also suffer from chronic Lyme disease
Yolanda Foster has revealed that she is not the only member of her famous family to be battling Lyme disease.
Two of her children are also battling the illness, she revealed while speaking at the Global Lyme Alliance in New York this week.
The 51-year old was diagnosed three years ago and accepted the Power of One award at the gala as she vowed to continue her fight to find a cure for the tick borne illness.
"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," the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star said.
Bella, 18, and Anwar, 16 were both on hand to support their mom, along with sister Gigi and her boyfriend Joe Jonas.
Gigi, 20, was given the task of introducing her mother to the stage and commented on Yolanda’s decision to star in the reality TV series:
"I remember when she was going into the first season of filming, she said to me, 'I don't know why this show was brought to my life, but for some reason, I think it will lead to something bigger.”
Her mom chose to dedicate her award to her children who also live with Lyme disease and promised:
“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.”
On the red carpet, Gigi gave an emotional interview with Entertainment Tonight about being the only one of her siblings to not have Lyme disease:
“What's been hardest for me is just trying to find a way to be their hope and kind of be a strength for them even with the disease that I can't understand fully because I haven't been through it.”
Not too long ago, singer Avril Lavigne made a return to music after she was forced to step away from the stage following her diagnosis.
"I thought I was dying … There were definitely times I couldn’t shower for a full week because I could barely stand," she said of her illness earlier this year.
