TOWIE star Kelsey Stratford shows off her toned curves in a sparkly red mini dress as she attends Steve Madden launch event in Dubai
Kelsey Stratford commanded attention in a red mini dress while attending the Steve Madden x Barfly Dubai launch event on Thursday.
The TOWIE star, 23, displayed her toned curves in the bandeau number with bejewelled embellishments, which perfectly hugged her sizzling frame, and added silver strappy heels.
She toted the glamorous look with a matching shimmery red clutch bag for the swanky night, and kept the jewellery to the minimum with a gold bracelet.
Her blonde locks were styled in flawless as she smiled graciously posing inside the fashion event, also alongside another female pal.
Kelsey was axed from The Only Way Is Essex during a mass cull of of cast members in 2021.
Kelsey Stratford commanded attention in a red mini dress while attending the Steve Madden x Barfly Dubai launch event on Thursday
The TOWIE star displayed her toned curves in the bandeau number with bejewelled embellishments, which perfectly hugged her sizzling frame, and added silver strappy heels
Her blonde locks were styled in flawless waves as she smiled graciously posing inside the fashion event, alongside another female pal
She made the choice to quit showbusiness altogether and train as a carer in a bid to help others.
The former reality star was inspired by her little sister Kennedy, 10, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 at just a few weeks old and is paralysed from the neck down, and is unable to speak or swallow properly.
And Kelsey has spoken out to praise the care her sibling gets after Kennedy was initially told she would only survive 18 months, while revealing details of an app she's developing to help her sister communicate.
Kelsey told The Sun: 'I honestly don’t know what we’d have done without the NHS.
'She is on constant medication and oxygen, which they provide for her. They do amazing work.
'Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to care for Kennedy.'
About 1.6million people in the UK carry the gene that causes spinal muscular atrophy and one in every 10,000 babies is born with the condition.
A baby born with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 is expected to die before their second birthday.
Kelsey was axed from The Only Way Is Essex during a mass cull of of cast members in 2021
She made the choice to quit showbusiness altogether and train as a carer, after being inspired by her little sister Kennedy, 10, who has spinal muscular atrophy type 1
Those who develop other types of the condition later in life often go on to have a normal life expectancy.
Kennedy is routinely seen by the team at Great Ormond Street Children’s hospital but is treated elsewhere in emergencies.
Every winter she ends up in intensive care, with Kelsey describing Kennedy's immune system as 'awful'.
She was on life support after contracting Covid-19, with Kelsey saying: 'The NHS have been incredible to my family and kept Kennedy alive.'
Kelsey was 12 years old when her mother gave birth to Kennedy and her twin brother Karter.
It was soon realised both babies were not progressing normally which led to them both receiving a spinal muscular atrophy diagnosis.
After four months, Karter died from the condition, with Kelsey's mother having to break the news to the older siblings.
'I don’t really talk about this part of it much, so it’s really hard,' said Kelsey.
She said it was a shock to learn it was unlikely the babies would be a part of their family for long so they tried their best to make life as comfortable as possible for Kennedy.
Kelsey says it's 'amazing' Kennedy is still with them today, adding that she's the 'strongest' and most 'cheerful' girl she knows.
However, Kelsey is determined for Kennedy to communicate on her own and has teamed up with a psychologist that would allow disabled children to communicate with their families.
Kennedy can only communicate by grunting, laughing or crying and only her close family or carers are able to understand what she means.
Kelsey says children with spinal muscular atrophy have fully functioning brains but are trapped inside their own bodies.
She says she knows Kennedy would love to be able to say things but can't.
She has revealed details of an app she's developing to help her sister communicate and make her life better
The app called Kennedy’s Kingdom is in development but she is searching for someone to help turn it into a fully functioning reality.
It would involve a screen showing an alphabet with AI software hovering over each letter for two seconds before moving on to the next.
The user of the app would be able to select the letter by making a noise and the letter would be dropped into a basket to later spell out the word.
As it is used more often, the app would suggest words in a similar way to predictive text on mobile phones.
Kennedy has previously been using Eye Gaze which works by tracking eye movement to select letters.
Kelsey says it is often very slow and struggles to connect to the user's pupils, causing Kennedy to get frustrated and give up.
The new app would give Kennedy a better chance at communicating with her family and carers, and the medics in hospital.
Kelsey said: 'The NHS gave my sister a chance at life, and now I’d like to help her live it to the full.'
