A Formula One grid girl, Khloe Atkinson, who hails from the U.K, is in a coma after diabetes made her go blind in one eye and suffer kidney failure.
Khloe, 32, lost sight in her right eye in February and a week later she had kidney failure forcing her to be placed in an induced coma at the Royal Stoke University Hospital earlier this month.
Speaking to Stoke-on-Trent Live, she said: “Diabetes does run in the family – my dad, brother and grandparents all have it.
“I was diagnosed at the age of 21 and at that age all of my friends were going out partying, drinking cocktails and I didn’t want to miss out.
“But diabetes is a silent killer and it kills your organs without you knowing. I put my contacts in one morning after going to the gym and my vision was blurred as if I was looking through frosted glass.
“I just presumed I’d put them in incorrectly so I went home to get my glasses and then when I put them on my sight didn’t change.
“After an emergency appointment I was diagnosed with Macular edema and now have no sight in my right eye and partial sight in my left.
“About a week later I went to the doctors because I had been experiencing intense headaches and nosebleeds. I saw my GP at 10am one morning and at 8.30pm he called to say I had been playing on his mind and he thought I should seek emergency treatment.
“I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with kidney failure. My kidneys are now functioning at 8% and I’ve been put on dialysis until I can find a donor.”
Khloe used to spend her days fire breathing, angle grinding and stilt walking in her role as a part-time model in Formula one.
She has also worked on shows such as The Real Housewives of Cheshire and as a grid girl for Honda and Formula 1.
But she has retired due to her health condition and says it’s “heartbreaking” not being able to do what she loves most.
Khloe added: “It’s been really tough and the diagnosis hasn’t quite sunk in.
“I’m a part-time model and a grid girl and I love it, it’s not like a job. You get to stand looking glamorous, but I don’t feel like that now.
“It’s heartbreaking, I’ve been a professional dancer since the age of 18 and appeared on different TV shows and now I’ve got a tube hanging out of my belly. It’s frustrating because I’ve always worked.”
