Bravery of beauty
Claudia’s sepsis battle
A Bothwell beauty who began the year fighting for her life will compete in the final of Miss Scotland next month.
Claudia Todd was rushed to hospital on Hogmanay and began 2018 battling the ‘silent killer’ sepsis.
Now recovered, she is combining her bid for the catwalk crown with a campaign to raise funds that will help others fight the illness.
The 22-year-old performer said: “I had just come back from playing Belle in Arbroath’s professional pantomime, and just after Christmas I started to feel very weak, disorientated and overall very drained.
“I was rushed to hospital on New Year’s Eve to find out that I had a major kidney infection which then led to my kidneys shutting down – I developed sepsis as my kidneys were so badly infected.
“I felt helpless and so scared of being in hospital alone at such a young age.
“My family and my friends helped me fight through the silent killer, and with a great medical team at University Hospital Wishaw I got better slowly and recovered from the illness.”
Claudia is now using her story to try to do some good as she competes in Miss Scotland against 11 other finalists. She was absolutely thrilled to be considered for the title and is raising money for the UK Sepsis Trust.
She said: “Being a finalist for Miss Scotland is an incredible feeling, allowing me to share my story and help people fight through hardships. I believe as Miss Scotland you need to be a role model and a fighter to be a strong ambassador for Scotland.
“Being a finalist has been so much fun, and it’s fantastic to get to know each and every girl and their stories too.
“I think it’s important to promote a healthy and fit lifestyle – going to the gym and eating healthy foods, creating a healthy image for the younger generation – especially due to social media being such a huge part of life now, and I believe it’s important to post about nutrition and health.”
All of the finalists have to nominate a charity that they will fundraise for, and Claudia has no hesitation in picking the UK Sepsis Trust.
She added: “As I spent most of January in hospital, I want to give something back to the charity and really raise as much awareness and money as possible.
“The charity really does mean so much to me and my family. Helping others fight what I went through just feels amazing!”
Claudia last month hosted a ‘Thistle and Fizz Ladies Lunch’ where she raised over £6500 for the charity.
And this weekend she will also be swapping heels for hiking boots and climbing Ben Nevis.
She said: “The UK Sepsis Trust is a very personal charity to me and my family as I was diagnosed with sepsis in January and fought through the silent killer. I believe by fundraising and raising awareness for sepsis, we can beat it as a team.”
Over the next month, the finalists will be judged in several challenges, providing them with a opportunity to impress along the way before they take to the stage in the glittering final on June 15, at the Corinthian Glasgow.
■ Donate to Claudia’s campaign at www. justgiving.com/fundraising/claudia-toddletsbeatsepsis