Pixiwoo beauty expert Nicola Haste has revealed she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In an emotional video posted on the Pixiwoo YouTube channel on Thursday night, Nicola said she discovered she had the genetic disease on the day after her daughter Edie's first birthday in February 2014. In a statement to HELLO! Online, Nicola said: "Naturally this came as a real shock to realise that I am not indestructible. It has made me re-assess my life to make sure I'm doing everything I can to put my health first. Not everything in life is as perfect as it seems on social media, however I won't let it hold me back and if anything I'm living life fuller than before. Every day I appreciate my wonderful family, amazing children and incredible support system I have around me."
MS affects the brain and the spinal cord, and can cause a range of symptoms, including dizziness and problems with speech and sight. In the video, Nicola told fans: "I sometimes get the speaking problem when I am run down… My brain is just fuzzy and I can't find the words to say what I want to say."
The vlogger also revealed that her biological father died of the disease earlier this year. "My biological dad died from an illness called MS and he never gave me anything in my whole life apart from MS," she said. "I don't know why I'm crying because I don't even feel sorry for myself because I live with it and I'm totally fine but I think it's because it's such a big thing to actually tell everyone... I've wanted to tell everyone for so long, but I had to deal with it myself first."
Of receiving her diagnosis, Nicola said: "I did cry myself to sleep every night for about two weeks thinking what if my vision never comes back – what if the vision in [the other] eye gets worse too? And just thinking I won't be able to walk my kids down the aisle, I won't be able to be there." But, she added: "I am not this person, I am not going to lay here crying feeling sorry for myself because other people live with it and get on with life so I just got on with life."
Nicola and her sister Samantha Chapman are both hugely successful and respected makeup artists. In 2008, Samantha uploaded her first video to YouTube to help demonstrate a smoky eye for a friend resulting in the very first Pixiwoo video. Nicola joined two weeks later and their YouTube channel really took off. The sisters are also the faces of the Real Technique Brush Collection.