Two little friends... united by courage

By PAUL SIMS

Here's how to do it: Ellie (right) shows off her new prosthetic leg to Charlotte, who hopes to get her first pair in a few months


Smiling together, the two pretty blonde girls could easily be mistaken as sisters, not new friends with a unique bond.

The lives of Ellie Challis and Charlotte Nott have taken almost identical paths. Both started life as healthy babies — until they contracted meningitis and had to have all of their limbs amputated.

The incredible survival story of Ellie, now seven, gripped the nation after she fell ill in 2005 at just 16 months old. And in December, three-year-old Charlotte narrowly survived the illness, but at the cost of her arms and legs.


Hello, pet: Seven-year-old Ellie, who contracted meningitis in 2005, makes friends with the lambs during a day at a farm


‘Charlotte put her stumps up against Ellie’s to say hello,’ said her mother Jenny Daniels, 29, yesterday. ‘She was so happy to see someone else with stumps just like hers.

‘Ellie was great — she showed Charlotte that she could get around easily with or without prosthetic legs and Charlotte hobbled after her. It was very special.’

The girls spent the day giggling with one another as they cuddled rabbits and fed lambs at Mead Open Farm in Bedfordshire.

‘I love Ellie’s legs and I can’t wait until I get some, too, so we can run around together,’ said Charlotte, from Oxford.


You have a go: Little Ellie is all smiles as she shows a curious Charlotte how to operate the wheelchair


Ellie’s parents Lisa, 37, and Paul, 47, have helped her learn to walk on prosthetics, start school and ride a bike. ‘I know exactly what Jenny is going through,’ said Mrs Challis.

‘I remember thinking that Ellie would never have a normal life. But it’s great that we’ve been able to show Charlotte and her family that there’s very little Ellie can’t do.’

Charlotte’s parents - Jenny, an administrator for a book publisher, and air conditioning repairman Alex Nott, also 29 - are just starting to come to terms with what has happened to their daughter.


I'll race you: Charlotte (left) and Ellie giggle together as they get behind the wheels of toy cars


‘When Charlotte caught meningitis, my world fell apart. I was terrified about what the future held for her,’ said Miss Daniels.

‘So to see Ellie running around was so special to me - it has given me hope for Charlotte’s future.’

Ellie became the youngest person ever fitted with £10,000 carbon ‘flex-foot’ legs two years ago.

Ellie also let Charlotte have a go on her wheelchair - it is too tiring for her to use her prosthetic legs all the time. She controls it with the stumps of her arms.

Charlotte will have to wait until she is five before the NHS can provide her with a wheelchair.

She hopes to get her first pair of prosthetic limbs in the next few months once her wounds heal.

‘I still say thank you every day that Charlotte is still here with us,’ said Miss Daniels.

‘Watching her playing with Ellie was a miracle.’

source: dailymail

'Catherine was outed during bipolar struggle,' Michael Douglas tells Oprah

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Anger: Michael Douglas told Oprah that Catherine Zeta Jones was 'outed' during her struggle with bipolar disorder


Michael Douglas is enraged that his wife Catherine Zeta Jones was 'outed' in her struggle with bipolar disorder.

The 66-year-old actor, who is looking fantastic despite his high-profile battle with cancer, appeared to be gripped by fury as he talked about his wife of 12 years checking herself into a Connecticut institution.

Asked about 41-year-old Zeta Jones's illness by U.S. chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, the Wall Street star declared: 'She was outed.'


'My eldest son is in federal prison, my ex-wife is suing me and I got cancer': Douglas tells Oprah his woes


His statement was shown during a preview of Winfrey's exclusive sit-down chat, which airs in the United States next week.

Zeta-Jones's spell in a mental facility first emerged in the American tabloid magazine the National Enquirer, prompting her to release a statement hours later revealing she was suffering the condition.

Douglas, who announced in January that he had defeated throat cancer, still appeared frail as he sat in front of Winfrey's live studio audience.

During the interview the actor speaks candidly about his wife's illness and his own heath problems, which saw him diagnosed with a throat tumour last year.


Release: Douglas spoke frankly about his family's recent troubles with Winfrey


He also opens up about his ex-wife Diandra's attempts to get a cut of his earnings from 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' and his son Cameron's jail sentence for drug dealing.

'My eldest son is in federal prison, my ex-wife is suing me and I got cancer,' he said.


Concern: The talk show mogul looked concerned as Douglas talked about his wife's battle with depression


Sombre: Zeta Jones has a moment of sadness on the Louisiana set of Playing the Field


'It takes a lot of courage to seek help and I am proud of Catherine for doing something positive about her situation,' he said. 'It's onwards and upwards for us.'

For her own part, Catherine, who is back at work on the set of new film Playing the Field in Louisiana, is sanguine about the news breaking, even defiant.

'There is no shame in seeking help, she told People magazine.




source: dailymail

An 18in waist and size three feet: Former anorexic's life-sized Barbie reveals bizarre - and dangerous

By TAMARA ABRAHAM

Scary figure: Galia Slayen's life-size Barbie is 5ft 9in tall, has a 39in bust, a tiny 18in waist and 33in hips. A real woman with the same dimensions would weigh just 110lb, giving her a BMI of 16.24

She's been a favourite with young girls for decades. But a life-sized Barbie is being used to demonstrate just how unhealthy the doll's proportions would be on a real woman.

The mannequin, which stands 5ft 9in tall, has a 39in bust, a tiny 18in waist and 33in hips. Even her feet would be disproportionate, at a tiny U.S. size 3.

Galia Slayen, who made the model, revealed that a real woman with the same dimensions would weigh just 110lb, giving her a BMI of 16.24 - a figure associated with eating disorders.


Unbalanced: If Miss Slayen's mannequin was a real woman, she would have to walk on all fours due to her proportions. The doll was made to highlight the dangers of eating disorders


She told the Huffington Post: 'If Barbie were an actual woman, she would be 5ft 9in tall, have a 39in bust, an 18in waist, 33in hips and a size 3 shoe.

'She likely would not menstruate... she'd have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.'

Miss Slayen, a former anorexia sufferer, knows the implications of being underweight all too well, and built the doll as part of her recovery and as a means of raising awareness about the dangers of eating disorders.

The giant Barbie, made from chicken wire and papier mache, is now on show at Hamilton College, Oregon, where Miss Slayen is a student, as part of its National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW).


Painful reminder: The former anorexic dressed her doll in a size double zero skirt she wore at her thinnest


She told CBS News: 'The goal of Barbie is to get just get people's attention. [Eating disorders are] very prevalent and not talked about.

'It's sensationalised in the media every time a star loses weight, but this is a very internal struggle.'

Miss Slayen, who played with Barbie dolls as a child said that her own weight problems began when she was 15.

She revealed that a troubled relationship with her parents and pressure from her peers drove her to excessive calorie-counting and exercise - something that became an obsession.

She explained: 'I was living on my own and trying to figure out how I was going to survive. My life was completely out of control and it was the one thing I was able to control - the hours at the gym, the calories I was in-taking. It's a means to control your life.'


source: dailymail

'There is no need to suffer silently,' says Catherine Zeta-Jones as she heads back to work

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Feeling better: The actress looked relaxed and happy as she returned to work in Louisiana today, where she is filming Playing the Field alongside Gerard Butler


Just a week has passed since she revealed she was being treated for bipolar disorder.
But it was showbusiness as usual for Catherine Zeta-Jones when she returned to work yesterday.

The actress looked elegant and glamorous in a ruched silk top as she began shooting romantic comedy Playing the Field in Louisiana.


Smiles: The actress returned to work on the same day she appeared on the front cover of People
And yesterday, it looked


The 41-year-old’s appearance on the film set came after she revealed she went public with her diagnosis to help other sufferers.

And Zeta-Jones is hoping her admission will encourage others with the condition to seek treatment.

She told People magazine: 'There is no shame in seeking help.


Battle: Michael Douglas, who took his daughter Carys to school today, is recovering from throat cancer


'This is a disorder that affects millions of people and I am one of them,' she adds in a statement. 'If my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it.'

In early April, the star checked into Silver Hill Hospital, a mental health facility in Connecticut, where she spent five days receiving treatment for bioplar II disorder.

She sought help after struggling to cope with the trauma of husband Michael Douglas’s battle with throat cancer.


Treatment: Catherine is said to have checked in to the Silver Hill mental health hospital in Connecticut in early April


source:dailymail