Bella Hadid said she’s “finally healthy” in an emotional update about her chronic health struggles, including Lyme disease.
The model, 26, shared a carousel of images on Instagram on Sunday showing snippets of her medical records, and snapshots of herself receiving treatment and hospital care.
She described her long-running ordeal, including “100+ days of Lyme, chronic disease , co infection treatment, almost 15 years of invisible suffering.”
Hadid was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, along with her brother Anwar Hadid and her mother Yolanda Hadid. She was a teenager at the time.
“The little me that suffered would be so proud of grown me for not giving up on myself,” Bella Hadid wrote in her post.
“Thankful to my mommy for keeping all of my medical records, sticking by me , never leaving my side, protecting, supporting , but most of all, believing me through all of this.”
“Living in this state, worsening with time and work while trying to make myself, my family and the people who support me, proud, had taken a toll on me in ways I can’t really explain,” she continued.
“I am okay and you do not have to worry,” she added, noting that she would go through it all again to get to “this exact moment I’m in right now, with all of you, finally healthy.”
“It made me who I am today,” she said.
“I tried to pick the most positive pictures I could because as painful as this experience was, the outcome was the most enlightening experience of my life filled with new friends, new visions and a new brain,” she said of the carousel she posted.
Hadid thanked her fans, her agents and her medical team for their support, and her employers for their patience.
“I’ll be back when I’m ready,” she said. “I miss you all so much. I love you all so much.”
Hadid has taken a break from the runway in recent months. Last week, her older sister, Gigi Hadid, said Bella had “just finished a long and intense treatment for Lyme disease” and wasn’t sure if she’d be back for shows for the upcoming Fashion Week season.
“I’m so proud of her and excited for her comeback, whenever she feels ready,” Gigi Hadid wrote.
In March, Bella Hadid shared on TikTok that a “low-grade infection underneath” her tooth had prompted a Lyme disease flare-up, causing pain and inflammation.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with a 2- to 4-week course of oral antibiotics,” but “patients can sometimes have symptoms of pain, fatigue, or difficulty thinking that lasts for more than 6 months after they finish treatment.”
The disease is caused by a type of bacteria that can be transmitted to humans by infected ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and skin rashes. If left untreated, the CDC notes, “infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.”