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Disabled Cov girl bids to become 'Miss England'
A Coventry teenager who's been told she'll eventually be in a wheelchair will today start her bid to become the first disabled Miss England.
Kirstie Logan, from Allesley, who's studying at Coventry University, first developed swelling in her hands and wrists when she was just 13.
More symptoms began to emerge as she started to study for her GCSEs and after a series of tests, she was eventually diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis when she was 16.
Ever since she's been on heavy medication and is monitored by consultants, at the moment she has to have bloodtests every fortnight, as well as steroid injections in her spine every six weeks and eight daily painkillers.
Her arthritis put paid to her dreams of being a singer songwriter, but Kirstie turned to modelling instead, and earlier this year realised a dream when she was crowned Miss Coventry.
She's now hoping to go one step further, and will battle it out in Birmingham over the next two days to try to become the very first disabled woman to be crowned Miss England.
Kirsie says the whole experience is helping her to cope with the darkest days of her illness: "It's a release from my arthritis and I can get up and do it."
"I wouldn't want to do it full time, but everytime I'm poorly, I think, 'look at that', and I look at a picture of me doing something - and I think I could do that one day, it makes me feel I could get up and do it another day, it keeps me going."
"You think of all the good things that you've done, all the things that I can do and a lot of other people can't, I think why am I feeling sorry for myself, I'm not in Afghanistan losing my legs, and I get up and go out and raise money for charity."
"If I listen to the doctors, I could be in a wheelchair next year, but I'm a fighter, and I don't really think that my fighting spirit will let my body give up."
The Miss England finals are being held at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham over the next two days - 60 women are competing, and also in the running from around here is Miss Rugby, Ruth-May Johnson, and Miss Stratford, Natalie Deegan.