Chloe Bayliss is not your average television star.
At the age of 17, she became seriously ill and was fighting for her life.
“I became very sick, suddenly, I was rushed into hospital with an allergic reaction to medication I was taking to stop vomiting,” Chloe said.
The former Newcastle resident endured seizures and fluid retention and needed a minimum of 12 bags of plasma a week to survive.
Doctors struggled to determine what she was experiencing and treated her with different medications to see if anything would work.
After sending blood samples all around the world and having “close to a year of treatment three times a week”, including dialysis and plasmapheresis, Chloe received a diagnosis.
“Finally, they were able to diagnose me with Lupus,” she said.
Lupus is an incurable autoimmune disease that is caused by the immune system attacking its own tissue, for Chloe the disease affected her kidneys, joints, blood and muscles.
Following the diagnosis, her doctors were able to create a plan to help bring her Lupus “under control”.
“I’m perfectly capable of doing everything everyone else does, I just have to look after myself,” Chloe said.
Now, aged 28, the Doctor Doctor star has become a new ambassador for the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and is sharing her story to encourage people to donate blood and save lives like hers.
“One in three people will need blood in their lifetime – that should be more than enough encouragement to give the gift of life,” she said.
Earlier this year, Chloe published her first book En Pointe sharing her story and, this month she was featured in Australian Red Cross Lifeblood’s new TV series Giving Life.
Giving Life follows the stories of those who give and receive blood and make life possible.
“I was more than happy to share my story, even though it’s hard to put yourself out there sometimes,” she said.
“I have had hundreds and hundreds of messages since [sharing my story] and some are heart-warming, and some are heartbreaking – I was hearing from people who experienced or were going through similar things to me.
“I want people to be inspired by these stories to donate blood.”
Go to lifeblood.com.au for more information.
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