Strictly gets me through darkest times in my illness
Amy Dowden on how she keeps dancing through a painful chronic condition
Everyone knows that passion can help us through dark times, and Amy Dowden’s love of ballroom has been her saviour.
The professional dancer admitted that Crohn’s Disease, a chronic condition that means she struggles to digest food, has brought her to her lowest point.
In a BBC documentary the 31-year-old recalls feeling so desperate while in hospital that she told her parents: “I can’t do this any more, I’m just in so much pain, I’m done. I can’t fight this any more.”
Here, Amy explains how her dream of appearing on Strictly Come Dancing helped her through the toughest of times...
How does Crohn’s impact your life?
Crohn’s is a chronic condition which affects my digestive system and causes indescribable pain. I’ve had it since childhood and I’ve had to accept there is no cure. Dancing has pulled me through but it’s a battle. I live in fear that what I love the most could be taken away. Everybody suffers differently – I suffer with severe constipation, sickness and pain. The pain can be that bad it makes me pass out. Many sufferers end up having surgery but until now I’ve managed my symptoms with supplements and a strict diet.
You had a bad flare-up last year, didn’t you?
During lockdown I had one of the worst flare-ups I’ve ever experienced. I was in intense pain, unable to eat and drifting in and out of consciousness. I went to hospital and was stabilised with morphine and steroids. Slowly I started to get better but it was June before I was back on my feet. It made me think of all the times I spent in hospital when I was younger. I think, at one stage, the hospital was my second home.
How does Strictly help?
Strictly is more than just a dance show to me, it’s got me through the darkest times in my illness. For me, it’s a big inspiration to keep me dancing, it’s what I always work towards. I had this dream of being on Strictly – if you told me when I was 19 years old and hospitalised for six weeks that I was going to go on to become a British champion and be on Strictly, I don’t think I would have believed you. It’s been my saviour. Dancing is where I take away all my worries.
You have been hospitalised over 100 times since you were a teen. Do you worry Crohn’s might force you out of the show?
What’s helped me so much is that the Strictly team are so understanding. There are contingency plans in place. We’ve never had to use them, luckily, but if my symptoms get bad then a plan kicks in that production have. They don’t actually worry me with the details – they’re always like, ‘Amy, you don’t have to worry’. I’m just truly lucky because before Strictly, I had so many job opportunities turned away from me because of my Crohn’s. It’s wrong and, in a sense, it’s discrimination.
● Strictly Amy: Crohn’s and Me is on Friday, BBC1, 7pm and on BBC iPlayer.