An athlete diagnosed with the same rare condition as Kerry Katona refuses to let it hold her back and has her sights set on competing at the 2024 Paralympics.

Didi Okoh, 20, was diagnosed with primary lymphedema - swelling due to build-up of lymph fluid in the body - at the age 16, while at school.

TV personality Kerry Katona recently revealed she suffered from the condition and had even had her 'legs drained'.

Now studying law and criminology at the University of Birmingham, West Midlands, Didi has refused to let condition stop her from pursuing her dreams of becoming a professional athlete.

Didi, a student, from Chelmsford, Essex, said: "It's opened up so many opportunities with competing in Para-athletic events. "

"I wouldn't be the person I am today without my leg."

"Kerry’s story is very moving and I'm glad she has helped further spread awareness on lymphedema." "

However the journey to self-acceptance has not been easy, with Didi saying she used to feel "anxious leaving the house" as a teenager. "

And she still struggles with pain in her affected left leg every day.

Didi said: "It's exhausting to say the least - you have to have"

a strong mentality to deal with it.

"I'll wake up and sometimes think I don't want to get out of bed." "

Didi’s athletic career began in primary school when she started winning regional cross-country running competitions.

After joining an athletics group, she competed in national cross country races during secondary school.

However at the age of 12, her left leg "ballooned". "

Didi said: "One of the girls at athletics practice said, ‘Didi one of your legs is bigger than the other’. "

"We assumed it was a muscle mass thing, so over the next year I spent time double training my right leg - rather than my left leg. "

"My leg ballooned from an infection, although we didn’t realise this at the time, then we clocked there was something wrong. "

"My leg gradually started increasing in size, but I was still competing at very high levels in the nationals."

"I was still training with able-bodied athletes at that time, and I often felt like a failure as my leg got worse - so I wasn't making as much progress as I would have wanted." "

Didi said that when she was 16, she was "dropped" from the team - which marked a low point in her life."

She said: "My confidence and self-image depleted - especially when I was dropped."

"I felt very alone, and I didn't see anyone in athletics with my condition."

"I didn't feel I"

could speak to anyone about it and I would feel very anxious leaving the house because people would take videos of me and stare at my leg.

"As a 15-year-old, having adults come up to you unprovoked was mentally destroying."

Didi had multiple infections in her leg and said managing her condition was "two steps forward then three steps back"."

At one point her leg had "ballooned" from the top of her groin to her toes, at 59cm circumference in comparison to her right leg, which measured 38cm. "

Her athletics training stopped but her shot-put coach motivated her to keep going when she found it difficult to practise other sports.

Didi was on the brink of giving up athletics after her formal diagnosis when she met

Para athlete, Bibi Jackson, at a competition.

"She said Para-athletics is definitely a route for you," Didi said. "

"I was feeling ready to give up just before university, when I was 18."

"It was amazing to realise I could continue practising."

While studying at university, Didi has been training with coaches at the sports centre and taking part in regional and national competitions.

Gaining a classification as a disabled athlete has allowed her to take her sporting ambitions seriously again.

She received an athletics scholarship which recognised her sporting achievements, and has scored personal bests of a 60m spring in 9.32 seconds and long jump heights of 4.15m.

Didi said: "It was such a relief to get my lymphedema classified, because now I feel that finally have something to focus on."

"From September to now I have been training constantly and focusing on competitions. "

"I'm definitely expected to put in 100 per cent effort at practise and I’m not treated differently from the other (able-bodied) athletes."

"Sometimes my leg is bad but I will still carry on because of their expectations of me."

"Of course I get some stuff adapted - for example in certain sessions I won't do jump as high a height as the others because I don't want to risk injury. "

"I have to work much more on strength and balance because my right hip is much weaker as a result of the lymphedema."

"It’s still a learning curve and I still don't know how to manage the balance of pushing myself but not over-exerting my body."

While learning how to care for her condition, Didi said she has found some techniques which have proved useful.

She uses compression bandages, wrapping techniques, and very light manual massage to ease pain and help circulation in her leg, as well as keeping her legs elevated frequently.

Didi also claims low-intensity gym work is beneficial for her lymphedema as it develops her muscles.

However, Didi claims her leg still causes her pain "every day" and that it causes her difficulties in activities such as finding trousers to fit both sides of her body. "

"Sprinting is very heavy impact and I feel pain in the leg every day," she said. "

"My leg feels some level of pain at all times , from achiness to throbbing pain. "

"I would describe it as 'lactic acid 10 times over' and it's been very difficult to deal with."

"Sometimes I will struggle to get out of bed in the morning or I struggle to move it."

"My leg doesn't go past a 60 degree angle when sprinting which can be difficult."

"It's exhausting to say the least and you have to have a strong mentality to deal with it." "

Finding clothes to fit her leg can be "tough" but she has found baggier styles work well, such as wide-legged jeans and palazzo trousers. "

In spite of the challenges, Didi said she is "alway busy" and has lots of plans for the future. "

She is working hard to qualify for the Paralympics in Paris, France, in 2024, and is also interested in pursuing modelling activities, or a career as a detective or an investigative journalist.

"It's not just negative having this condition," Didi said. "

"It's opened up so many opportunities with Para-athletics. "

"I"

wouldn't be the person I am today without my leg - I wouldn't be as confident.

"'This is a lifelong condition. What I do now with my leg is going to affect my life forever, so"

I want to wear whatever I want and do whatever I want."