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Girl, 14, who lost her arms and legs to meningitis becomes YouTube make-up blogger
A TEENAGER who contracted meningitis and had all four limbs amputated is now making YouTube make-up videos.
Izzy Weall, 14, from Derby, was just seven when she fell ill with the infection.
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Her parents, Catherine Lloyd and Oliver Weall, were warned she had just hours to live after she suffered a heart attack and multiple organ failure.
But the youngster has defied the odds and is now .
Izzy, who has her arms amputated just below her elbow, shows how she applies her make-up and gives other insights into her day-to-day life.
Izzy's mum, Catherine, 43, said: "We so proud of her, she has never let anything stop her.
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"She has never seen herself as disabled or different, she wants to do all the things that teenagers her age would do.
"She started becoming interested in make-up a few years ago and the more she practised, the more she perfected it.
"People have stopped us in the street and asked if I do her make and they are amazed that she does it herself.
"It wasn't until her grandad told her she should film it and put it on the internet to help others that she set up the channel."
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Izzy started uploading regular videos to her YouTube channel six months ago and has since racked up over 8,000 views.
She is hoping to inspire other amputees and has received messages from other disabled people around the world.
Izzy said: "No believed that I did my own make-up, I can do eyeliner and have even used fake eyelashes before.
"It did take a while to get it right but it came with practice, and now I'm uploading videos regularly.
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"I have had a really positive reaction, I have had other amputees message me, thanking me for inspiring them."
Recalling the day Izzy fell ill with meningitis, Catherine said: "She was being transferred to Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, when her heart stopped and her organs failed.
"They had to give her a shot of adrenaline to keep her alive, they gave her a less than 1% chance of surviving.
"The top consultant said she was the sickest child he had ever treated, who had managed to pull through."
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Izzy spent two weeks in an induced coma and her parents were warned she could potentially be brain damaged.
However, Izzy came out of her coma a fighting and underwent the operation to have all four limbs removed.
Catherine said: "The doctors sat us down and told us that we may have to be prepared to turn off her life support machine because her brain may have been so damaged.
"Luckily she came through fine and adapted really quickly to getting around without her limbs, I think because she was so young she never questioned anything.
What is meningitis?
It is the inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord and can be caused by meningococcal bacteria and viral meningitis.
If it is not treated quickly, meningitis can cause life-threatening septicaemia (blood poisoning) and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.
The two forms of the disease have different symptoms.
Around 3,200 people a year get bacterial meningitis. One in 10 die and many more are left with life-changing disabilities.
Viral forms of meningitis are less common and rarely life-threatening, but can have lifelong effects.
Infections peak during winter when bugs spread more easily in confined spaces.
Izzy spent two months in hospital and another eight months in a wheelchair before she was fitted with prosthetic limbs.
Five years after learning to walk again Izzy stunned doctors by winning a national trampolining competition.
The schoolgirl, who lives with her two brothers Alex, 12 and Josh, 9, came top in the Disability Category Two Novice competition, in 2015, which was open to performers with a physical disability.
Izzy has now returned to trampolining after a shoulder operation but makes sure she has plenty of time to pursue her YouTube dreams.
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She said: "I love doing make-up videos but videos where I'm explaining what I have been through, get a lot of views.
"I want to prove that I'm no different to anyone else, and I hope others feel the same when watching my videos."
Catherine added: "She has always been very mature for her age and she is quite business minded.
"She is very thick skinned and determined and if someone gives her a challenge she will prove them wrong.
"Some people say to us it must be so awful for Izzy to have lost her limbs but we are lucky to have her with us regardless, we are so grateful we still have our daughter."
Meanwhile, a model who lost both legs to a deadly flesh-eating bug has overcome the pain to become the first double amputee in Europe to walk the catwalk.
And, Lego have refused to make one-legged figure of an amputee… despite having peg-legged pirate model.
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