A brave beauty vlogger who had all four limbs amputated after getting bacterial meningitis has won a legion of fans thanks to her stunning make-up looks.
Kaitlyn Dobrow, 25, from southern California, caught the terrifying illness when she was 18 which left her hospitalised for six months – during which time she had 22 surgeries.
The illness caused her to lose more than half of her skin and required all four limbs to be amputated, but Kaitlyn has been determined to not be held back.
On the night before she was admitted to hospital, Kaitlyn left a social event with friends due to a bad headache, and spent the night with an intense fever, a bloated stomach and throwing up.
Kaitlyn said: "I had just started a new job at a hotel, so I told my mom in the morning that I would have to call in sick.
"My mum asked if I wanted to go to the hospital, but I didn't feel well enough. I went to the bathroom and my knees almost buckled underneath me. That was the last time I stood up on my legs.
"Within those first 12 hours my whole body started to turn purple. It progressed very fast. The meningitis got into my bloodstream and pretty much cut off all circulation to my skin and limbs.
"The disease kept eating away at my arm and they kept having to cut it shorter and shorter. I ended up getting all of my limbs amputated."
As well as her amputations, the meningitis also took 57 per cent of Kaitlyn's skin – necessitating a large number of surgeries to help cover the damaged areas.
She said: "A lot of them were taking skin from areas that weren't affected by the illness and putting it on the affected areas, to help grow the skin back.”
After going through the ordeal of rehab, Kaitlyn channelled her energies into make-up as one of the few things she felt she could still do with her prosthetics.
She said: "I'm self-taught in terms of make-up, I grew up tap dancing so when I had shows you have to wear the red lipstick and do your hair.
"I think make-up changes the way that I feel about myself. I wanted to start my YouTube channel because I used to watch a lot of make-up tutorials when I was recovering, that's when I became obsessed with it.
What is meningitis and who does it affect?
Meningitis can affect anyone, but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.
It is the inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord and can be caused by meningococcal bacteria and viral meningitis.
If it's not treated quickly, meningitis can cause life-threatening septicaemia (blood poisoning) and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.
Around 3,200 people a year get bacterial meningitis.
One in 10 die and many more are left with life-changing disabilities.
Meningitis is usually passed on from people who carry the virus or bacterial form in their throat or nose, but aren’t ill themselves.
It can be spread through kissing, sneezing, coughing and sharing household items such as toothbrushes or cutlery.
"I was like 'That looks really fun and something that I could do'.
"Beauty to me is someone conquering something in their life that feels bigger to them. Something more than looks, it's something that you feel."
Kaitlyn is now a successful beauty vlogger and disability rights advocate with 16 million views and 235,000 subscribers on YouTube and more than 132,000 followers on Instagram.
She lives with her parents Donald, 65, and Kathi, 64, brother Ian, 29, and their two pitbull border collie puppies, and says that while her illness has given her a new outlook on life, not everything about her has changed.
Kaitlyn said: "Before I got sick I was very sassy, which I guess I still kind of am!
"Over the years it's become more real that my life has changed a lot. It's taken a long time accepting my life as it is.
"But posting on YouTube and Instagram makes me feel like I'm doing something that I'm good at. I like the positive reinforcement, but I also love helping other people.
"There are people who say they were too depressed to get out of bed and I inspired them to put make-up on and do at least one thing in their day."
Kaitlyn's father Donald added: "To go through an experience like this and come out healthy, happy, strong, wonderful, beautiful individual, I totally admire her."
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