Chronically Ill Woman Uses TikTok To Educate Others & Help Herself Remain Positive

A chronically ill woman from Kansas City, Missouri has found comfort and connections through positivity on the app TikTok.

Before she was even a teen, 22-year-old Tricia Melland was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, a disorder that occurs when structures that produce energy for a cell malfunction and cause mitochondria to have a hard time burning food and oxygen to generate energy.

Melland spent her days constantly taking her temperature and blood pressure and going through treatment while often suffering from chronic pain, nausea and vomiting. Sadly, she is now in lung and intestine failure.

But despite her grim prognosis, Melland never lost her zest for life.

Eventually, she made a TikTok account to help her pass the time, but came across another user named Tia, who was diagnosed with cancer and needed encouragement. Melland wanted to help, and decided to post a video of herself dancing to make Tia smile.

The dancing video that Melland thought no one but Tia would see ended up going viral with more than half a million views and 81,000 likes.

When Melland realized she could reach so many people, she decided to use her account to not only make others smile, but to also educate people all over the world about her disorder.

Now, she posts a mixture of dancing videos and educational videos and enjoys interacting with all of her viewers.

“I was researching on the internet, looking for anybody in a similar situation and I couldn’t find anybody. I think my goal is to be that person,” Melland told KTVZ. “To be somebody who can offer support for others who are struggling with chronic illnesses, others who are just having a hard time.”

Finding TikTok and this community of people has inspired Melland, encourages her to keep fighting, and gives her something to look forward to.

“Since making these videos, again, it’s just given me so much more energy to keep going and keep fighting and not listen to the odds and the statistics of how long my life might be,” she said.

Despite all of the negativity in the world right now, Melland remains positive and helps others be positive as well.

“How can we not be positive when you’re around someone like Tricia,” her mom, Wendy, told KTVZ. “We have to be strong for her, but she inspires us, and we want to do everything we can to help her achieve her goals and her dreams.”

Hear more of Melland’s story in the video below:

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