My Rare Condition Meant I Couldn't Eat Food | BORN DIFFERENT

FEARLESSY breaking down barriers, Anja Christoffersen was born with VACTERL Association - an acronym that stands for vertebral, anal, cardiac, tracheal, oesophageal, renal and limb. It’s a collection of birth defects that have caused Anja to have over 35 surgeries and 150 hospital admissions in her life, including emergency surgery on her food and air pipes, bowel and bladder when she was only an infant. Her condition meant she had to learn a totally different way of life, and that's exactly what she did. But she didn't stop there, ever inspiring and continuously trying to help those who need her, the model, author, CEO and public speaker set up Champion Health Agency, a talent agency helping people turn their lived experiences into careers - and with that growing a base of individuals that all help to inspire the current and next generation. Anja said: "Realising that I wasn't alone is one of my huge motivations for sharing my story." She added: "I'm incredibly passionate because I think it gives a great opportunity to show to a mainstream audience representation of minority groups. I think that it has such great value, especially to young people and children to see themselves represented in media, that they can do it too, and that there are people like them that are successful."