Here is my story. I hope it may inspire anyone else who may face similar difficulties in the industry.

Well I guess I'll start from the beginning. At the age of 4 my mother started to notice I was walking differently. She would ask me if my shoes were pinching or if they felt too small. My answer to this was always no. So she would ask me if I was in pain, and again my answer was always no. So she let it lie for that time. Not long later my mother noticed that I was washing my face with the backs of my hands instead of the palms. At this time she thought I was just being silly and couldn't understand why I would say I couldn't do it with the palms. The fact of the matter was it was painful to turn my wrists round.

As time went on I started noticing more pain in different areas of my body. Of course my mother was concerned and took me to my GP and the hospital on a few occasions. Each time we were informed that it was normal and that I was just experiencing growing pains.

By the age of 9 I was in intense pain 24 hours a day. I would wake up in the middle of the night crying with pain and unable to move any part of my body. I was unable to walk more than 100 yards without having to sit down due to my feet and ankles being sore. I was unable to put socks on myself or do up the top button on my school shirt. Because we had been to the hospital so many times about it, my mother just helped me when I needed it and thought it was just an extreme case of growing pains. It was this year that my primary school stepped in and asked the school doctor to examine me again. I was then referred to hospital yet again, and it was on this occasion I was diagnosed with Arthritis.

Most children and adults who experience arthritis only have a few problem areas however I was informed that I had it in every join in my body. I was prescribed a lot of medication to control the disease and minimise the inflammation and the pain. The medication did its job and relieved me from a lot of the pain. After years of medication, intense physio therapy, hospital stays and steroid injections into the joints the disease started to go into remission. I could walk better and a lot further, I could put my clothes on all without any trouble, walk up and down staircases without assistance and basically live a normal life again. I was offered disability allowance and a disabled badge which could have been of great benefit; however I was always of the mindset that I never wanted to be treated different to anyone else, a view to this day I still have.

When I think back to then I didn't want to be known as 'the disabled girl' as I was young and worried about what people would think. Now that I'm older and a bit wiser, I have no problem with being classed as 'disabled' as I'm proud how I've coped and dealt with it head on and I'm proud of what I've achieved. I recently seen one of my doctors who said to me that he would never have predicted I would walk as well as I do when he first seen me all those years ago when first diagnosed. I've never given up, and always strived to be seen as 'normal' which I think has been the reason as to how well I am today.

To look at me on first glance you would never think there is anything wrong with me, although sometimes I do walk with a limp if I'm having a bad day. However if you take a closer look, you can clearly see the damage the arthritis has caused on my hands and feet. My left foot in particular is very much deformed after all the years of damage caused by the arthritis.

At the age of 18 I decided to give modelling a go. It had always been a dream of mine but I knew it wouldn't be possible if I couldn't walk properly. So I decided Glamour would be the best option for me as I wouldn't need to do runway.

I entered into the industry very open minded but with the hope that I may be accepted by a good agency. It soon became apparent that although I felt better than ever and not really in much pain anymore, the arthritis still played a very big part in my life. Glamour models often pose in very high heels or in bare feet. Although this may not sound like a big problem, this is exactly where one of my biggest problems comes in. I physically can't fit my left foot into anything higher than a 4inch heel, and can't walk in anything higher than a 3inch heel. Even when I do, open toe shoes very much shows off my left foot and its deformation. This is the same problem with posing in bare feet. Another challenge I am faced with is that I can't often get into the positions I'm required to pose in, or in other occasions I can get into the position but can't hold it for very long as it becomes painful.

On top of this, keeping in shape is a lot more difficult as I cannot exercise, I have tried various forms of exercise to keep in shape but I always end up doing more damage than good. Swimming is about the only form of exercise I can do that does not cause any pain. Now bearing all this in mind, I've pushed on and I refuse to give up on a modelling career, I am capable and my biggest attribute is my determination to succeed. I will give anything a try and I even persuaded my doctor at the hospital to put me forward for surgery to correct my foot deformation especially for my modelling career, to enable me to where heels and to pose in bare feet. The surgeon agreed to operate but unfortunately the surgery was not a success and my foot reverted back to the way it was previously within 4 weeks of surgery which was quite disheartening. This was in 2007.

In 2008 I heard about a TV programme that were looking for girls who want to be models but were disabled. I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me and so I filled in the application form and sent it to them. I soon received a phone call from them for a telephone interview. At this time I was told they were very interested in me and thought I was perfect for the show and would like me to attend a casting in London. I soon travelled to London to meet with the show producers and have some photographs taken. On this occasion I was not selected for the show. I am unsure of the reasons for but when the show was aired I thought it was maybe because my disability was not as visible as the other contestants. We are now in 2009 and I'm still pushing on to hopefully be recognised as a capable model despite my disability and to be signed by a good agency to make a career from modelling.

I'm not prepared to give up!