Two-time Big Brother Award winner Reggie Bird posted a heartbreaking health update on social media.
The 48-year-old Gold Coast-based TV personality, who won the reality series in 2003 and again this year, tells her 45,000 followers that she was recently diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, a condition that affects both hearing and vision. rice field.
Byrd, who was first declared legally blind in 2008 after being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, shared a heartbreaking health update on Thursday.
“That’s not what I wanted to hear,” Byrd said video when she bursts into tears. “It’s the worst thing you can have. I’m going to be deafblind.”
According to the Victorian government better health Usher syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects hearing and vision and can lead to partial or complete hearing loss and gradual loss of vision.
After becoming one of America’s most popular TV stars following her win in 2003, she revealed in 2014 that she had no peripheral vision, narrowing her overall vision to just 10 degrees. For Bard, who did, things got worse. She also said she was battling depression.
On the personal side, Bird has been divorced twice and has two children, Mia, 15, and Lucas, 12, the latter suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Earlier this year, the realistic character finally returned to our screens Brother‘s Contenders vs. Loyalty season went down in history as they won the competition twice, taking home $250,000 each time.
“Honestly, I’m very proud to have participated and done what I did and tried,” Byrd said after his second victory.
“I just wanted to show people living with disabilities that you can go out and achieve anything you set your mind to.
“I am very proud to represent people with disabilities.”