“This disease has brought us to our knees,” said Yolanda Hadid, one day after Bella posted a cryptic health update from the hospital
Yolanda Hadid is detailing the suffering that her daughter Bella Hadid is going through while being treated for Lyme disease.
On Thursday, Sept. 18, the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 61, posted a series of photos on Instagram of the model in the hospital and opened up about how much her daughter has endured recently.
“As you will understand, watching my Bella struggle in silence has cut the deepest core of hopelessness inside me,” she wrote. “The invisible disability of chronic neurological Lyme disease is hard to explain or understand for anyone. I try to lead by example on our Lyme journey but my own pain cannot compare to watching my baby suffer.”

Yolanda Hadid/Instagram
Yolanda, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, said that in recent years she’s stopped discussing her own battle in order to focus on healing. Calling herself the “CEO of my health,” she added that she’s still determined to find a cure affordable to everyone.
She then praised Bella, 28, for being a “warrior” during the difficult time, which she called an “unknown hell.”
“To my beautiful Bellita: You are relentless and courageous. No child is supposed to suffer in their body with an incurable chronic disease,” she said. “I admire your bravery and your willingness to keep fighting for health despite the failing protocols and countless setbacks you have faced. There simply aren’t words big enough for the darkness, the pain, and the unknown hell you’ve lived through since your diagnosis in 2013. You didn’t really live, you learned how to exist inside the jail of your own paralyzed brain.”

Yolanda Hadid/Instagram
“I am so proud of the fighter that you are. You are not alone, I promise to have your back every step of the way, no matter how long this takes,” Yolanda continued. “You have fought through another month of treatment and I know god is good, miracles do happen everyday 🙏 I pray for your speedy recovery my love. This disease has brought us to our knees, but we always get back up. We will continue to fight for better days together. You are a survivor… I love you so much my badass Warrior.”
Yolanda’s post comes just one day after Bella shared photos on Instagram from a hospital bed while apologizing for her recent absence from public life.

Yolanda Hadid/Instagram
“I’m sorry I always go MIA I love you guys,” she wrote in the caption, alongside photos that show her resting in a hospital bed while hooked up to IV bags.
Her mother commented under the post, writing, “❤️Lyme warrior.”
“I love you! I hope feel as strong and good as u deserve, soon!!!!!!” her sister Gigi Hadid added.

Yolanda Hadid/Instagram
Bella was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, alongside her mom and her younger brother Anwar. She first opened up to PEOPLE about struggling with the debilitating disease while working as a model in 2016.
“Life isn’t always what it looks like on the outside,” she said at the time, adding that “the hardest part of this journey is to be judged by the way you look instead of the way you feel.”

Yolanda Hadid/Instagram
Lyme disease is caused by the borrelia bacteria, which is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of a black-legged tick, also known as a deer tick. In severe cases it can spread to the nervous system, called neurological Lyme.
According to the CDC, neurological complications most often occur in early disseminated Lyme disease, with numbness, pain, weakness, facial palsy/droop (paralysis of the facial muscles), visual disturbances, and meningitis symptoms such as fever, stiff neck, and severe headache.
