A talented teen has revealed how she overcame her childhood illness to win Miss Dublin 2022.
Inspirational Tallaght woman, Katie O'Connor, was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis at the young age of 11. Idiopathic scoliosis is a type of scoliosis that causes the spine to develop an abnormal curve in children and teenagers.
Katie, 18, told Dublin Live: "The diagnosis was especially devastating for me with my dance career. I used to train 24/7 and dancing was my passion."
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Katie remembers how her body constantly shifted due to the condition. But she kept dancing even on bad days when her spine went totally out of place.
Katie said: "It was tough because I had all these physio appointments. I constantly wasn’t in school because my appointments, check-ups, and operation time took a good chunk out. That was the same time as my Junior Cert."
Katie said she had to "restructure" her life around having scoliosis. When she was 14, Katie got a major operation where the surgeons screwed two metal pole brackets on both sides of her spine.
But despite all this, Katie never let her condition drag her down. The determined teenager started small but eventually went on to become an all-Ireland champion in both Ballroom and Latin dancing with Xquisite Dance last November.
Katie was also crowned Miss Dublin 2022 and Leinster people choice 2022 for her outstanding talents. She said: "I could not have achieved this without the support of my family and of course my dance family."
Katie, who works as a makeup artist, hopes her story will be an inspiration to anyone out there who was diagnosed with scoliosis. She said: "I want to help all scoliosis patients to get a fair chance to follow their dreams and to preach that their diagnosis doesn’t stop them."
Katie has launched an online fundraiser to help raise awareness for children waiting on surgery for scoliosis. All donations will be given to Straight Ahead Ireland which is under the umbrella of The Children's Medical and Research Foundation (CMRF).
Additionally, Katie is hosting a quiz night to raise vital funds to buy a mobility trike as part of the "Trikes for Life" campaign with Variety - The Children's Charity. The event will be taking place at St Marks GAA Club at Cookstown Road on Friday, August 12 from 8pm until 11pm. Tickets are €10 per head. To donate you can email Katie at kat1o@icloud.com or send money through Revolut at 0858320458.
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