COVER GIRL.
Age 4. Catapulted to stardom. Unexpected Cover Girl for School Year Book.
NEEDLE & THREAD.
Age 8. Found my textilean mojo in needle and thread. No doubt inspired by, and possibly genetically imprinted from, my skilful seamstress Grandmother (Helga). Handsewing colourful visions into form. Bliss.
PLASTIC ROLE MODEL.
Age 10. Birthday Gift Touchdown … ‘Day-to-Night’ Barbie. Strategically positioned Velcro transformed her sleek, conservative business suit into a frothy, pink tutu and glistening lame bustier. Corporate ladder by day, VIP Soirees at night. I had my Muse. Not a Ken nor Camper-van to speak of. My girl had three mystical horses, a wardrobe bursting with red-carpet-ready frocks crafted by me, and a lime-green, mirrored coffee table which converted into the ultimate day-to-night accessory … a bubble bath.
GAME-CHANGER.
Age 14. Everything changed. Illness struck. Life would never be the same.
A NEW PARADIGM
Age 15. Gifted two books that would re-frame my circumstances & provide me with the tools to transform my health and alter my pathway. “ You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay & “ Raw Energy” by Leslie Kenton. Beliefs challenged. Values reimagined. Plus, the toughest questions a teenager can handle. “Why is this happening to me?” “Am I going to die?” “Did I somehow create this illness?” “How can I heal myself?”
FASHIONABLE LIFE.
Age 18. Rock-solid epiphany midway through Information Night for local Fashion Design Course. Four years of mastering the French Seam? … Uh, no thank you. Instead, I went solo, designing, wholesaling & promoting my own clothing label. A self-styled Advt Campaign shot by friend and uber-famous photographer, Darren Centofanti … and the media flattered my socks off with comparisons to Tom Ford. Coupled with thunderous applause at the parade launch – DESTINY … I finally knew what that word felt like.
MY VOGUE MOMENT.
Age 21. Appointed Editor of hip, street mag. Pinched myself as I interviewed my fave fashion industry idols … including Lipstick Queen, Poppy King … deets of our Powwow later published in THE actual ‘September Issue’ of US Vogue some 13 years later. You know, the one the movie was made about? Goosebumps. #AnnaWintourIsMyBFF.
CALENDAR GIRLS.
Age 23. Late night phone call with Doyenne Artist & Bestie, Emma Hack ignited a string of creative collaborations headlined by four Body Art Calendars. Working, travelling & making magic with my favourite friends … best memories ever? You bet.
LADY FATE.
Age 26. Dream Styling gig booked in India. Two week long Celebrity Advt Campaign for International Music Television Channel. Just days before takeoff … a horror car crash put an end to my lofty plans. Heart broken, but the Universe had spoken.
ON THE SAME PAGE.
Age 30. Picked my jaw up off the floor and kicked my Shrink to the Kerb after he told me to “Accept the fact that I was NEVER going to regain my health.” Shock morphed into gratitude at monumental life-lesson download. ‘Seek counsel only from those who are in sync with my mantra – ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE’
ASTRO INFLUENCE.
Age 33. Local News Ed. sqwashed my idea to produce, write and style glossy House Features. Mega- Crushed. Glanced at daily horoscope which stated …’Brilliance guaranteed if you stop thinking small.’ Reached out to Deborah Biddy, Big Wig Editor of hugely popular National Shelter Magazine ‘REAL LIVING’ . Nutso for my Pitch, she booked me on the spot. Planets officially aligned.
TELEVISION SAVED MY LIFE.
Age 36. After 20 years of illness and millimetres from total body collapse, a chance T.V encounter was my saviour. Who woulda thunk it? Let the healing finally begin.
Wow Amelia, what an extraordinary achievement. Well done and here’s hoping you will continue to improve as well as inspire others to keep going under any circumstances Best of luck!
Thanks so much for your support, Anna … so appreciate!
A x
Love your story of courage and searching to arrive at a pathway to healing for yourself. Having an MCS sufferer in the family your story is oh so familiar – word for word – struggle by struggle.
I watched your interview on TV – a well presented documentary on MCS – and have wondered about you ever since. I am so happy you are on the upward side now and have direction, but mainly that you have answers and some peace.
Your story is an inspiration and above all a very clear and logical account of what MCS does to your body – something the average person is able to understand – it will help many “doubters” to understand what MCS sufferers are forced to endure
I wish you the best the universe can offer for the rest of your life and hope it is a full life with complete recovery.
Hi Diana,
Thanks so much for reading my story & for posting message.
MCS is really one of those illnesses that sounds ‘unbelievable’ until you have lived it personally. It sounds like you understand all too well the challenges one faces on a daily basis. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to share my story publically, because attitudes need to change and unless we speak up, nothing will ever change.
Best wishes & healing hugs to you & your family.
A x
Oh, Amelia, you really are amazing. The amazing Amelia Hill! You can be our MCS poster girl for Australia (hopefully not forever, though). You are so positive and inspirational, I sometimes feel dizzy when I come across you on the internet. Keep up the great work! I love reading your writing; you have a gift there, girl.
love Miche -hugs-
Gee thanks, Miche! Coming from such a gifted writer like yourself, that means so much to me! x
So pleased to find your website. After years of being outside the communities of chemically injured people, it’s distressing to see sufferers reinventing the same wheel person by person. Glad to hear the mitochondrial testing has caught on along with Dr. Pall’s feedback loops and the NOO cycles.
I’ve been running a Yahoo group for years now titled Chemical Injury Support group and have met many firmly diagnosed cases of diseases ranging from car crash injuries to the spinal column inducing dysautonomia ( see Facebook Dr. Margaret Aranda) to my own pesticide poisoning demonstrated through testing of neurotransmitters. We talk about anesthetics like Citinest Plain for dentistry and other strategies. I lived in a car for years after assessing the chemicals present in house dust from various apartments and rental homes.
If you have proven exposures to chemicals, physicians can diagnose 989.9 or a Toxic Effects of Chemicals (chiefly non-medicinal). This is an important portal to knowledge and legitimization of an unpredictable constellation of symptoms.
I was poisoned in NYC in 1999 and left unable to work. Presently in Israel, I’m pleased to have read of your trials and hope we might spread our relative stashes of information around 🙂
Barbara
Dear Amelia,
I have suffered and recovered from both MCS and ES.
I know what it feels like to be “allergic” to your cell phone, wiring or electromagnetic waves in your own home, perfumes, disinfectants, fabric conditioners and to be chronically tired and hyper-sensitive to everyday objects.
I know what it’s like when you are telling people, doctors, and they don’t believe you.
If I can do it, you can do it too.
But it has changed me forever.
Best regards,
Gabriella, Saudi Arabia
xx
The term recovery is important to define because improper use of medical terms hinders resolutions. Allergy is usually a histamine reaction to a normally non-toxic substance in normal concentrations like shell fish or ragweed. Allergies can be an noting or life-threatening but they are rarely presumed to go away and a recorded drug or latex allergy is never tested by responsible physicians.
Inhibition of histamine responses or total avoidance is the treatment.
For toxins, adverse reactions are rarely allergic in nature – Socrates did not die from an allergic reaction to hemlock. We know dose-response relationships determine when toxic-induced loss of tolerance happens, a level of exposure called TILT by MIT professor Claudia Miller. The relief factor is often presumed to be a recovery but only means exposure has ended or multiple exposures have been simplified to only a few at low levels that allow the body to excrete or store the toxin. A craving for fat indicates a need to store toxins and weight loss releases fat-cell contents back into the body. When losing weight, experts like Dr. Grace Zeim (Chemicalinjury.net) say you must avoid added toxic exposures so poisons aren’t entering as others are leaving (with some normal re-uptake in the process.
Reactions are also due to organ damage or biochemical imbalances that affect digestion, reproduction and other functions. The measurement of toxins within the body and in the environment are key in diagnosis, treatment and then monitoring for future harm like cancers.
With environmental illness, the environment must be healed, not just the patient.
Barbara
Dear Barbara,
you are missing the point completely.
You are going on about terminology.
I suffered from both MCS and ES and have recovered completely. They are both very serious physical illnesses. I call it allergy but it was more than the simple allergy – an allergy was a walk in the park compared to what I suffered.
And although I do not agree with them, I can now stand many toxic products or be in an environment where there is wireless which my body could not stand when I was ill.
Your body can heal. You have to believe it.
Hello I am extremely thankful and in aw in coming across Amelia’s life story and am also floored by her strength and determination not to give up!
Reading her story actually made me cry as I thought that could be me some day.. I too suffer with mcs and ems and alot of other health problems..there is so much I would like to share right now but am able to as I am at work but for now I will say that it is interesting and also humbling to read the stories on here from mcs sufferers. You kind of feel a beautiful enpowering spiritual connection to others who are also suffering with mcs like ourselves.
To Amelia-what do you do to find supposedly safe clothes that dont make you sick? Are there any clothes shops you can recommend as I give up trying to find anything as everything irritates my skin and causes it to feel like it is on fire!-severe burning and other irritation sensations..So annoying..!
I am struggling to find anything that I can tolerate and I don’t know if repeatedly washing new clothes in bicarb soda and vinegar, milk or other things will be enough for me??Please help if you can,will try to re-visit soon to share more of my story with you amazing folks!!
P.S to Gabriella Tomolillo:
I am curious to learn how you cured yourself from mcs and ems and what clothes you find safe to wear? Where do you shop for clothes and ehat do you do to detox them if they make you sick??????