LEIDY Ardila from Neiva, Columbia suffers from fibrous dysplasia, an uncommon bone disorder where scar-like (fibrous) tissue develops in place of normal bone. The condition developed after Leidy had heart surgery when she was a baby. Doctors warned her mother that Leidy wouldn't be able to walk - and that it was likely she wouldn't survive past her 12th birthday. But Leidy more than proved them wrong. Aside from the surgeries and hospital visits Leidy has endured, it has left her face enlarged and it's perhaps this visible aspect of her condition that impacts Leidy the most. Now 29 and working as a graphic designer, Leidy is using social media to promote body positivity.
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00:00I've had incidents where I've felt very comfortable when no one was looking at me.
00:05I call it the silent disease, yes, because it goes on destroying without realizing it.
00:13Because I have a double-faced deformation, I'm not going to be as different as some of you.
00:19I think it's something more than what you see.
00:25My name is Nate, I'm 29 years old.
00:27I'm normal, I don't have a heart attack.
00:30When I was born, they had to operate on me.
00:34I had a surgery and it was a total success.
00:38But they applied a lot of corticosteroids and as a result, I started to have a heart attack.
00:46I have a needle in my calcitonin, I have more calcium from my waist up than from my waist down.
00:57I call it the silent disease, yes, because it goes on destroying without realizing it.
01:04There are times when it stops, sometimes it continues, it keeps coming back.
01:10Sometimes I see a deformation more inside than outside.
01:14The doctor told me, your daughter has a disease called fibromyalgia.
01:20She has fibromyalgia.
01:23As well as being told how rare her condition was,
01:26doctors also told Lady's mother she would likely lose her ability to walk.
01:53But Lady proved the doctors wrong,
01:56and despite all the health implications arising from her condition,
02:00she's still able to walk today.
02:03However, it's been the enlarged shape of her face
02:06that's been the hardest thing she's had to come to terms with.
02:10When I'm around her, when I'm with her,
02:14I feel like I'm a part of her.
02:18When I'm around her, when I'm with people around her,
02:24it's very normal for people to look at me.
02:27And when they're surprised or something like that, because it's normal.
02:32It's like they're surprised, like wow.
02:34I've had incidents where I felt very comfortable when people looked at me.
02:39The process of acceptance has been long.
02:44I don't know who I am, but I've always had my insecurities.
02:52Hi, Lady.
02:54Hi.
02:55How are you?
02:56Good.
02:57He started motivating me, saying,
03:00Lady, look, you're a rock.
03:02Why don't you start making videos?
03:05Look, you can do well.
03:06When he told me everything, look, I don't know what,
03:10and I've had a lot of friends,
03:12of what they were going to tell me.
03:14Because, let's say, one is not prepared
03:18to face the world.
03:21And he's going to do it that way.
03:23And she's been like that for a long time.
03:25Her story, she even uploaded a video to social media on her page,
03:28on her profile.
03:29And everyone started sharing it, commenting on it.
03:32Comments from all over the world.
03:35People telling her that she's such a beautiful woman,
03:37that she has a great story.
03:40I've been doing well,
03:42you could say, because I've had a lot of followers.
03:44But I've also experienced the bullying part.
03:48The criticism has been very harsh.
03:54Well, really, I do it with the purpose
03:57of inspiring people
03:59who have a lot of insecurities.
04:02So, it doesn't matter the condition,
04:06it doesn't matter how you are.
04:08You have to carry on with life, right?
04:14Thanks to that, I've been able to inspire a lot of people.
04:18Because I have a beautiful face,
04:20I'm not going to be as different as some people.
04:24I'm going to show myself, that I can do it.
04:27I think it's something more than what you see.
04:31When I look in the mirror,
04:33I see a fighter, a warrior,
04:36moving forward with his life.