Everyone has his own story to tell. But some stories tell us something more about life, about endurance and just how hard life can be. But I know now, that even sad or hurtful stories don’t always have a bad ending.

Growing up, life hasn’t always been kind to me. I was living my best life during puberty when life knocked me down at 15 years old. I got very sick and did the best I could to handle this situation. But doctors didn’t really know what was going on with me. So it took a lot of different specialists 2 years to discover what was really going on in my body.

At 17 I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. I didn’t know what suffering and torment I was about to endure during the next years. It was traumatizing, being so sick at such a young age. And there was so little compassion and support from my family. So that hit hard.

When I was 19 years old, I developed severe health problems. I needed chemotherapy and high doses of prednisone. The Lupus had started to attack my kidneys and other organs and systems in my body. After a while I needed to go on kidney dialysis, spending my days at a machine trying to cope and survive. It was getting the better of me. Finally 3 years later, when I was still on dialysis, there was hope. They had found a matching donor kidney. So after 3 long years I finally got my kidney transplant.

2 years after my kidney transplant, life began to change. It finally got better.

Still, life was harsh . It felt like years of my life had been taken from me. But I didn’t give up. I had some really good people around me, my self chosen family (my dearest friends), who supported me in any way they possibly could. Giving up was never an option for me. I just wanted more out of life. So I began chasing my goals…

I started making plans for the near future. Oh, there was so much going on in my mind. But you can’t do it all at once. So I did everything step by step. And just by accident, I ended up in the world of photography and modeling.

During this time, I met someone special. He introduced me to a far better place then I could have ever imagined. Maybe even some kind of dreamworld, far away from clinics and doctors. He supported me in so many ways and wanted me to feel good about myself and just , you know, just live and feel alive. So he became my anchor, my supporter, my person. He was my person!

After that, everything changed so fast. I was given a lot of new opportunities. I did my first fotoshoot with a photographer I didn’t really know. I just wanted a try out. The results were very nice and I loved being in front of the camera. Especially because a couple of years before, I weighed 30 kg more caused by medication. So it was the first time I really liked and enjoyed watching pictures of myself.

I became a Glamour Model.

I achieved this by hard work, endurance en picking myself up everytime I got knocked down. It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m not a quitter. So after every setback I got back on my feet before long.

I am so blessed for everything and everyone who contributed and helped me in all possible ways.

With me telling my story, I want people to see… If you just hold on and believe in yourself… You can achieve so many great things.

Up to this day I am still working on my dreams and goals and I hope that someday I will achieve them!

Dare to be courageous, dare to dream and dare to fight for everything you want in life!

You are never alone. Everyone is fighting a battle. And you, yes you, are worthy of so many beautiful things. You are strong enough to achieve anything you want.

I believe in you!!

Currently I am writing a book, telling my story to the world. Hoping that sharing what I experienced will give you the courage to never give up. To always be strong and fight for all your goals and beliefs.

You can follow me here. In the future, I will release some parts of a chapter of my writings for you to enjoy and to be inspired. I hope you will like it!

With love,

Stephanie XoXo