A woman who was born with a rare inherited skin blistering disorder which caused her to get “bullied” and feel “like a freak” throughout her childhood and teenage years, as well as forcing her onto a soft food diet of “bananas and custard” for weeks at a time, now writes inclusive children’s books with a focus on disability to encourage “other children to grow up with confidence”. Vie Portland, a 52-year-old confidence coach, author and speaker from Winchester, was born with epidermolysis bullosa simplex generalised intermediate but was not formally diagnosed with the skin condition until she was 28. According to the NHS, epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare inherited skin disorder that causes the skin to become very fragile, and any trauma or friction to the skin can cause painful blisters. Vie is yet to find a treatment that helps her condition, and her feet are regularly covered with huge internal blisters which feel like she has “stones under (her) skin.” Her condition even means that she cannot eat “anything acidic or too peppery” and often spends weeks eating “just bananas and custard”. She has also developed thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic bursitis, and often has spasms, because of walking with a limp to try to ease the pain. Now, Vie writes inclusive children’s books to raise awareness about living with a disability, because she grew up “afraid that there was no one else like (her)”, and hopes to write a book about someone with her condition next. Vie told PA Real Life: “So it feels like I’ve got stones under my skin all the time on my feet and it doesn’t matter how much you try to explain that to someone people just don’t get it. “Even things like if I meet friends for a drink in a lovely pub garden – I’ll be in agony because of walking on gravel and it takes so much energy out of me. “I can’t eat anything acidic or too peppery – sometimes I have to eat just bananas and custard for weeks.” Vie was born with the skin condition, saying: “I was born with no skin on my bottom and had some skin missing on my left foot. “The charity that works with people that have EB wasn’t around then – I spoke to someone recently from Debra, the charity, and they said if you looked at all the people on a double-decker bus, you’d expect to find at least one person with psoriasis. “But, you’d have to wait for over 700 buses before you met someone with EB.” As a child, Vie regularly had huge blisters all over her feet and the back of her heels. She explained: “I remember wearing jelly shoes one summer, and heat and friction are two of my triggers. “Throughout the day, blisters grew around the rubber shoes and I had to have the pair of shoes cut off my feet – it was excruciating.” When Vie was a teenager, she was very self-conscious of her condition, she explained: “I was in constant pain, and I struggled with all shoes and walking anywhere. “We’re always told not to pop blisters, but when you have EB they tell you to pop them because they get so big. “I didn’t know that at the time and it was just so painful. “People were noticing how I walk and I was embarrassed to show my feet – I didn’t have a normal childhood because of this. “Even something as simple as opening a bottle makes several layers of skin come off and cause me to have raw skin all over my hands, I was told this was weird by other people.” Doctors were baffled by Vie’s condition, over the years, she was told she had different types of eczema and even that she was allergic to her own sweat. But, at age 28, she was diagnosed with EB by a dermatologist in London. She said: “I just grew up believing that it was my fault and I was afraid that there was no one else like me.” “It all just made sense. “They even took pictures of my feet for a medical journal because it was so rare.” After getting her diagnosis, Vie began researching the charity DEBRA, which specialises in EB. She said: “I started finding out that there were people like me – it was amazing, growing up, I was bullied and felt like a freak.” Since then, Vie has sadly not been able to find a treatment that helps her condition. “There’s no cure for EB but things have moved on a lot over the past 20 years,” she said. “We have special types of dressings and creams which can help alleviate the pain.” On top of this, because Vie has been walking “unusually” for most of her life, she has developed thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic bursitis, and often has spasms. Vie said: “It can be frustrating at times because it just feels like no one will ever understand what it is like. “For most people, blisters are a bit painful, but it’s all right, but for me, it’s one of the worst pains in the world.” Now, Vie is focussing on raising awareness about living with a disability, and has recently written two inclusive children’s books called ‘Where Are We Going?’ and ‘Who Am I?’. She said: “I want other children to grow up with confidence and not to feel like a freak like me. “Children aren’t born with prejudice and I think it’s really important to teach them about all of our amazing cultures and worlds. “In my books, I don’t explicitly say the character is disabled until the discussion questions at the end – I want the character to be accepted and not defined by their disability. “I think people have more in common with each other than things that are different, and that’s a beautiful thing. “I’m hoping to write a book about someone with my condition – that’s my next plan.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fraser Franks undergoing heart surgery – four years after ‘hidden’ condition cut short football career 4 viral TikTok make-up trends you’ll actually want to try Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: What are the warning signs that your child might have cancer?

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In a bombshell development in the classified documents case against Donald Trump, a report by CNN says federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting in which the former president acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran — potentially undercutting his argument that he declassified everything. The recording indicates Mr Trump understood he retained classified papers after leaving the White House and suggests he would like to share the information but is aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records. The network cites multiple sources. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the classified papers case, is also looking at the former president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. In a new development he is examining Mr Trump’s firing of cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs, whose office said the vote was secure, The New York Times reports. Mr Krebs was fired by Mr Trump shortly after the election. Meanwhile, as more Republican contenders join the party’s primary race, Mr Trump has promised a year-long celebration of America to mark 250 years of independence if he wins the presidency again. Read More Trump caught on tape discussing classified documents he kept after leaving White House, reports say Trump legal team asks for judge in hush-money case to be removed Trump accuses DeSantis of faking his own name in wave of attacking social media posts

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Hoda Kotb has opened up about her fears of ageing and missing out on parenting milestones as she raises her two daughters: Haley Joy, six, and Hope Catherine, four. The 58-year-old NBC anchor discussed her anxieties about getting older during a recent episode of Bethenny Frankel’s Just B podcast. While speaking to the entrepreneur and former Real Housewives of New York City star, Kotb detailed her approach to parenting as an older mother to young girls. “I do have it sometimes,” Kotb said, when asked by Frankel if she has “anxiety” about ageing. “My dad died when he was 54, 55. I always think that the foundation he laid down was good for me. It helped me in my life.” Kotb was a junior in college at Virginia Tech when her late father, Abdel Kotb, died of a heart attack in 1986 at age 51. The Emmy-winning journalist became a first-time mother in 2017 when she adopted her eldest daughter Haley with ex Joel Schiffman. However, Kotb admitted that she “sometimes does the math” when thinking about being present for her daughters getting married or having children of their own. “I look at my mom, who’s 86, and I think to myself, ‘OK, what’s the difference here between me and her? 30 years. OK, that’s kind of good,’” Kotb said. “So I add 30 to Haley and I add 30 to Hope. And I think to myself, won’t that be spectacular? I can do that.” The Today host added, “Wouldn’t that be amazing? Do I get to see them get married? Maybe. That would be really good. Or do I get to see them have a child? Maybe. That would be really good.” While Hoda Kotb admitted that she sometimes has anxiety about watching her daughters grow up, she ultimately decided to not look at the future in a negative way. Rather, she explained how she chooses to focus on how “special” it would be to witness her daughters’ milestones. “I think about it, but I don’t think about it on the end of, ‘Oh, no, I won’t be able to…’ I would be delighted if all those things were possible, and I think that would be special,” she said. Kotb then recalled writing her mother’s age minus her age on the glass in the shower one day. “And I looked at the number and I was like,” she shared, clapping her hands. “What if you get that many years? That’s more than I got with my dad.” Meanwhile, Frankel, 52, opened up about her anxieties of getting older and missing out on moments with her 13-year-old daughter, Bryn. The Skinny Girl founder shared that it’s her daughter who tends to “do the math” on their age gap. “I watch her make the connection and then I watch her get distracted because it’s anxiety for her,” Frankel told Kotb. “We’re very close. It just keeps getting better, it’s so beautiful.” Elsewhere during the podcast, Hoda Kotb detailed the moment she learned she was going to become a mother for the first time. In the episode, the Today star shared the text she received from someone named Ashley at the adoption agency after her daughter Haley was born. The mother of two said that, after she saw the adoption agent’s number displayed on her phone, she took out a yellow pad of paper and wrote the time, 11:55. “This is the moment everything changes,” Kotb recalled thinking. “I knew it.” “And I took a deep breath and dialed the number, and I said, ‘Ashley?’ and she said two words to me. She said, She’s here.’” “I don’t know what birth feels like, and I bet it was amazing, but this was really close,” she added. Hoda Kotb adopted her second child, Hope Catherine, in April 2019. Earlier this year, Hope experienced health complications that caused her to spend time at the hospital. Upon returning to the Today show after a two-week absence, Kotb revealed that her then-three-year-old had been in the hospital’s intensive care unit. “My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,” Kotb told Today co-host Savannah Guthrie. “I’m so grateful she’s home. She is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.” The journalist then expressed her gratitude for all those who helped her daughter and provided support for her family during the scary experience. “You know what I realised too, Savannah? It’s like, when your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who helped you out,” she said. “So I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell, who were amazing and the nurses. And I’m grateful for my family and I’m grateful to friends like you who were there every single day. So I want to say thank you for that. I love you.” Read More Hoda Kotb reveals ‘terrible’ letter criticising her for being an older mother Hoda Kotb returns to Today show after three-year-old daughter Hope is discharged from hospital ICU Jenna Bush Hager discusses body image after revealing her grandmother once called her ‘chubby’ Keke Palmer says she faced ‘breast milk discrimination’ at airport Colin McFarlane diagnosed with prostate cancer 7 tips and tricks for hay fever relief

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