Gabby allen says her spine is full of 'nuts and bolts'

Gabby Allen has spoken out about a terrifying health scare she experienced in her childhood. The 33-year-old Love Island All Stars winner said that doctors were even concerned she might

never walk again due to the diagnosis. "I was around 11 or 12 years old," she told presenters on ITV's This Morning. "I was actually on holiday and my dad was teaching me

how to dive, and my mum was like, 'Wait a minute, she's a bit wonky.' And then, straight away when we got home, they took me to the doctors." Gabby was promptly

diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition characterised by a twisting or sideways curvature of the spine. Although this may be noticeable externally, other signs may include uneven shoulders,

badly fitting clothes, and a rib or hip sticking out on one side. >  The NHS shares that scoliosis can affect people of any age, though it most frequently develops in children between the

ages of 10 and 15. While treatment isn't always necessary, Gabby was soon advised to have surgery due to the rapid progression of her condition. "And within a few months, I was

already on the operating table because it was growing so quickly," Gabby continued, to which presenter Rochelle Humes said: "At one point, you thought, or you were told, that you

might not ever walk again... That is quite something to hear." Gabby responded: "I think as a young girl, the scariest thing for me was that I was never going to dance again. It

was like, 'It doesn't matter about walking, I need to be able to dance,' because that's what I wanted to do. "So, I wasn't told much information before going

in, obviously my parents didn't want to scare me, but yeah. It is a 10-hour operation, well, the one that I had was, and they diffused my whole spine from top to bottom. "I've

got rods through the whole spine, nuts and bolts and everything. And you have to sign a form saying that, you know, there's a chance that you might not be able to walk again. "I

did have to learn how to walk again, but within six months, I was dancing. I won ballet competitions, like nine months later. So, I think that is what built my resilience to be where I am

now with, like strength training." Gabby has previously shared how enrolling in a personal training course marked a significant 'turning point' in her life, especially after

overcoming a period filled with self-destructive behaviour. Sadly, this transformation followed the heartbreaking loss of her father, who passed away just two weeks before her 21st birthday.

According to the Mirror, she wrote in an Instagram post last year: "I used to go through a cycle of binge eating and starving. I used to obsessively count and allow myself very low

calories, then get so hungry I'd binge on SH***. "I used to do fad diets like juice plus and then binge again. I used to go out and drink four bottles of wine, eat a Chinese on the

way home, then have a fry-up the next day and not move a muscle. I was miserable, I lacked structure, motivation, discipline and drive." Despite this, she later added:

"Fast-forward seven years I am still a work in progress but I have come a long way. Building strength in my body is the driving force in my life. It makes me feel strong inside and out

and I couldn't do without it."