Meet YouTuber Nikki Lilly who lives AVM arrives at Cannes: How she is an inspiration & all you need to know about this rare disorder

Nicole Lilly Christou aka Nikki Lilly, the prominent British charity campaigner, YouTuber, author and television presenter, made a classy entry at Cannes Red Carpet, where she had arrived for the premiere of the film ‘The History of Sound’.

Sharing her pics from the festival, Lilly wrote, “such a pinch me moment attending the 78th annual @festivaldecannes with my @lorealparis family and my very first time on that iconic red carpet ♥️ forever grateful”

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Who is Nikki Lilly?

The popular YouTuber covers topics including living with a chronic illness, bullying, mental health, baking and beauty on her channel. Lilly is from London, England and of Greek-Cypriot and Indian descent. She has been the subject of two episodes of the CBBC documentary series My Life: Born to Vlog, and I Will Survive for which Lilly also won the International Emmy Kids Awards in 2019. At the age of six, she was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

What is AVM?

Arteriovenous malformation or AVM is a rare disorder, which is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, bypassing the capillary system. In Nikki’s condition, it affected blood vessels in the face. To date, Lilly has undergone over 90 surgeries to manage her health.

She is an inspiration for everyone as despite facing severe challenges, Lilly is a ray of hope and continues to share awareness about AVM on her platform. Apart from Emmys, she remains the youngest recipient of the BAFTA Special Award.

In one of the interviews, Nikki shared how her life would have been different if she had not started her YouTube channel.  “I think YouTube saved me. Like, that’s such a big statement to make but I found YouTube in a time where I truly had nothing else. If I wasn’t a YouTube video maker, I was an avid YouTube video watcher. And I think being able to delve in and escape into other people’s lives really, and have a break from my own and the hardship that I was going through and being a sick kid, it meant so much to me. It was like being able to take a breath for two hours and take the weight off my shoulders a little bit. When I think about what I’d be doing now, I honestly have no idea. I mean, I think I would probably just still be sat at home in bed unable to leave the house. And there’s been times when that is still the case sometimes, despite doing YouTube. But YouTube has done so much good for my life in ways that I never could have even imagined. And I kind of fell into it. I think that’s what’s been the beauty of it. I never started my channel with any anticipation of anything that I’d be able to do any of this, but also of how it would change me as a person for the better and my confidence and my love for myself. I had no idea where it would lead, so it’s been like a journey of discovery. And it’s kind of amazing to be able to watch back a chronicle of my life over the last 10 years. The growth and the self-assurance grow and develop as my videos go on through the years. I think it’s a really special thing. Obviously, I have my days, but I think I’d be probably a much sadder person if it wasn’t for YouTube because it’s brought so much opportunity to my door over the years, but also it’s also allowed me to accept myself, and feel more comfortable in my skin. When I used to make makeup videos, my appearance was changing before me and you’re having to stare in the mirror and confront that by just putting on makeup. It’s special to see everything I’ve been able to do,” Nikki told Principle magazine.