After a decade of being misdiagnosed with a skin fungus, asthma, and allergies, Erica Deazsa Powers gave up hope. "I just accepted the fact that I might be a hypochondriac, and it might all be in my head," she tells Inside Edition Digital.
Former model and video vixen Erica Deazsa Powers is fighting for her life as she battles several life-threatening conditions, but her own battle has not stopped her from working for others as she spreads awareness about the issue of invisible illnesses.
She remembers having unusual symptoms as far back as second grade but had an incident as a teenager that really stands out.
When I was 13 years old, I was cheerleading," she tells Inside Edition Digital. "And out of nowhere my legs went paralyzed, so I just collapsed."
She also recalls moments of feeling weak, being tired while walking around the mall and always wanting to be at home. In addition, she often deals with skin flare ups.
"We went to the doctor, and the doctor told me that I was just experiencing growing pains," Erica says. “Nothing was really taken seriously enough for the doctors to want to go and do full testing.”
Erica continued to experience symptoms well into college, and they became more intense. She had difficulty breathing, difficulty having conversations, pain, skin issues, brain fog and she was always lethargic. People used to be like, 'Oh, you act like a grandma. You always at home. You never go nowhere,'" she says.
"I was just used to popping pain meds," she continues. “My toes and fingers would feel like they're falling off. I'd be in bed trying to figure out, 'Why can't I move? I can't even bend over. I can't even put on my clothes without gasping for air.'”
After being misdiagnosed with ailments including a skin fungus, asthma and allergies, Erica gave up hope.
"I just accepted the fact that I might be a hypochondriac, and it might all be in my head," she said.
Because of her condition, she has moved from Atlanta to Florida, where her mother is now her caregiver. She's adjusting to a new daily routine but says daily tasks are complex.
"I shower, lay down for an hour. Get up, brush my teeth, lay down for another hour. Get up, fix my hair," she says. “You just learn how to live with this thing until it gets better, until you get stronger. And I'm getting stronger.”
And though she may look OK on the outside, she's still struggling on the inside, she says.
Since getting diagnosed, Erica has shared her journey on social media, and advocates for people battling invisible illnesses.
"I need to let everybody know what it feels like," she says. We go through it every day. You only see us when we feel good. It's the truth. This is me doing this in real time. Y'all are a part of the journey."
Although her journey now is complicated, Erica is hopeful that she will have a long and healthy life.
"I will not die from this," she says. “I will live through this, and one day I will be in remission. I don't have to accept this. I don't look at it as something that just came to just stop my entire life.”
