Bella Hadid offered her social media followers an apology and an inside look at her recent hospital stay, sharing photos of herself wearing an oxygen mask and in bed with tubes hooked up to various parts of her body.
“I’m sorry I always go MIA I love you guys,” the 28-year-old model and activist captioned her Instagram carousel, shared Wednesday.
She posted snaps of quaint scenes of calm skies, golden sunsets and blooming flowers. But the photos posted in between captured a different tone: In one photo Hadid crouches on the floor in the corner of an elevator. Dark red fluid can be seen coursing through medical tubing in another, and in a selfie Hadid’s eyes are puffy and teary.
Though she did not reveal which ailment landed her in the hospital, her mother Yolanda Hadid left a hint in the comments section, where she praised her daughter as a “Lyme warrior.” In a separate post of her own, mother shared much more about her youngest daughter’s health.
“As you will understand watching my Bella struggle in silence, has cut the deepest core of hopelessness inside me,” the elder Hadid said on Instagram. She shared photos of her daughter’s hospital stay.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star and former model has also been vocal about her own battle against Lyme disesase, notably in her 2017 memoir “Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease.”
She added: “To my beautiful Bellita: You are relentless and courageous. No child is suppose to suffer in their body with an incurable chronic disease.”
Bella Hadid, sister of model Gigi Hadid, previously disclosed her battle with Lyme disease and other chronic illnesses in 2023, when she shared photos from another hospital stay.
At the time, she shared photos of medical documents dated February 2014 that disclosed her struggles with numerous of health problems, including fatigue, attention deficit disorder, memory disturbances, depression, sleep disorders, headaches, disequilibrium, nightmares, muscular weakness, chest pain and palpitations. The visit summary notes that Bella, then 17, “feels ill all the time.”
Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that people can contract if they are bitten by an infected tick, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms can include joint stiffness, muscle aches and pains, fever and headache. Antibiotics are used to treat the infection, which according to the Cleveland Clinic is curable if diagnosed and treated early but can also lead to chronic or recurring symptoms. In addition to Hadid, celebrities who have gone public with the disease include Amy Schumer, Justin Bieber, Ben Stiller, Kelly Osbourne and Riley Keough. Earlier this year pop star Justin Timberlake revealed his diagnosis.
Yolanda Hadid concluded her post with words of encouragement for her daughter: “This disease has brought us to our knees, but we always get back up.”
“We will continue to fight for better days, together,” she continued. “You are a survivor…I love you so much my badass Warrior.”
Former Times staff writer Christi Carras contributed to this report.
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