The E! News host shared that she’s been struggling with a rare blood disorder called microcytic anemia
E! News’ Keltie Knight is getting candid about her health problems — and the major step she’s taking to combat them.
In both an Instagram video and an essay for E!’s website, Knight, 42, opened up about her struggles with a rare blood disorder called microcytic anemia.
“I’ve been suffering in silence for so long behind the scenes,” she said in the Instagram video. “…Basically, it doesn’t matter what you do to me, nothing — nutrition, infusions, hormones, anything — my blood cells are just smaller and there’s less of them, and so, I’m feeling awful constantly.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, microcytic anemia occurs when a person’s red blood cells don’t have enough hemoglobin, which helps red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. It’s often seen in people who also suffer from iron-deficiency anemia, chronic diseases and lead poisoning. For many people, it results in exhaustion, dizziness and more.
“I have fatigue like I couldn’t even describe to you,” she continued. “I’m sleeping like 16 hours a day. If I’m not in — on E! News, in a fancy dress, I am in bed.”
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The major step she’s taking to stop these symptoms and try to preserve some of her healthy blood, she said, is getting a hysterectomy.
“I started joking about not wanting to leave my house or not liking people. But the truth is I love my people. I can’t wait to be out on a dance floor with my friends or at a concert with my husband Chris Knight like we used to,” she wrote in her essay, referencing her husband, the RocNation music executive.
The decision to remove her uterus was one she wanted to share with others because she wants other women experiencing chronic illness to feel like they can also speak up, rather than keep silent about their health challenges and disabilities.
“I’m being honest with you because my hope is that as women, we stop feeling like we need to pretend everything is OK when it’s not,” she wrote. “Throughout my career, I felt like I was such a fluke, that all my dreams were coming true not because I deserved them, but because I had tricked everyone into hiring me.”
“… I felt replaceable, so I never really advocated for myself because I knew if I was out sick, they would find someone younger, sparklier and healthier,” she added. “Living with a chronic disease silently takes over your entire life. There is guilt of not being a good wife or a good friend and the shame of never getting better leads to deep depression.”
“It’s hard to keep fighting for yourself,” she continued, just before thanking her doctors for advocating for her. “Until now.”
Ending her essay, Knight (or “your favorite childless wonder,” as she calls herself in her signature) thanked fans for their support, and urged readers to advocate for themselves when something feels wrong in their health.
