Entertainment
Drag Race star diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after ‘losing use of both hands’-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro
She is ‘taking every step possible to keep it at bay’.
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Drag Race star Veronica Green has announced she’s been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The drag performer is best known for competing on the second and third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
After having to leave her first appearance on the series due to contracting Covid in 2020, she was invited to return the following year.
However, she was eliminated in the third week and placed ninth for a second time after losing a lip sync to Vanity Milan.
Now a few years on, Veronica has revealed she’s facing a devastating health condition after ‘losing use of her hands’.
‘I’ve been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis,’ she shared on Instagram.
A star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has been diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis (Picture: BBC/ World of Wonder/ Guy Levy)
She went on to explain that over the summer she ‘got very sick’.
‘My body went numb, and I lost the use of my hands. After several blood tests, numerous MRI brain and spine scans and a lumbar puncture I finally got my diagnosis. Thankfully my body has returned to “normal”, and I’ve regained all of my fine motor skills but the permanent damage to my body has left me with a lot of neuropathic pain in my hands,’ she continued.
While Veronica said she was thankful she could ‘still sing and dance’, there was ‘no way’ of knowing how the disease would affect her moving forward.
‘It’s progressive and has no cure, but I’m taking every step possible to keep it at bay and hopefully prolong the time between my next attack,’ she shared.
Veronica Green shared the health update this week (Picture: BBC/ World of Wonder/ Ray Burmiston)
‘Realistically I could be walking with a cane in 5 years and in a wheelchair in 10, but there is hope that with disease modifying therapies and self-care of my nutrition and lifestyle that I may be able to stay healthy for a lot longer but only time will tell.
‘I wanted to share my story with you all to raise awareness about a disease that isn’t very well known and also to be able to document my progress to look back on in the future. I hope to be able to work for many years to come and this is merely the beginning of my MS journey.’
She concluded the post by writing: ‘Love to you all and thank you to everyone who has already messaged me with love and support. I will eventually get back to you all.’
Veronica was quickly met with many messages of support from friends and fans alike.
She first appeared on the series during its second season (Picture: David Fisher/ Rex/ Shutterstock)
What is Multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord.
Some of the most common symptoms include fatigue, problems with your eyes or your vision, such as blurred vision or eye pain, numbness or a tingling feeling in different parts of the body, feeling off balance, dizzy or clumsy and muscle cramps, spasms and stiffness.
There is currently no cure for MS but there are treatments that can slow the progression of it and help ease symptoms.
They include steroid medicine to reduce swelling and help nerves work better, muscle relaxant medicine to help relieve muscle spasms, cramps or stiffness and medicine to treat pain, vision problems and other symptoms.
‘Sending you so much love!’ fellow Drag Race UK star Elektra Fence commented.
‘Sending love miss Green,’ Danny Beard shared.
‘Please stay safe and healthy Ronnie, the world needs your joy and light! I’m sending you every once of love I have. You’re an icon and MS ain’t gonna change that,’ Scarlett Harlett added,
A few years ago, Veronica described being forced to leave the show due to coronavirus as ‘utterly devastating’.
‘Once I stopped crying, I was just numb. I didn’t know how to process the information. That’s it, the journey’s done, game over,’ she recalled thinking.
She returned the following year after being forced to withdraw due to contracting Covid (Picture: BBC/ World of Wonder/ Ray Burmiston)
‘I was having the time of my life on Drag Race, and it was cut short and then we were in limbo,’ she told the BBC in 2021.
The performer then faced ‘every single gig being cancelled’ and a complete loss of income.
‘I had no idea how I was going to pay the rent. Everything I’d trained for – my whole life had been built around theatre and entertainment and performing – it just disappeared overnight. The industry felt like it had collapsed.’
However, she went on to share she was ‘doing much better now’ and ‘got through it with the help of my family and friends and my fiancé’.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK continues tonight at 9pm on BBC Three.
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