One girl's mission to inspire through music

Posted Mon 1st Jun 2015 at 15:01
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Loreena is a young woman whose creative drive is inspired by her TS.

Loreena Fonceca is on a mission – through her music – to help people with TS believe in themselves.

Watching Loreena sing in her You Tube videos, or speaking to her on the phone, you wouldn’t guess that this is a girl who has experienced great suffering. Her upbeat tone and ambitious attitude leaves you with the impression of a girl determined to succeed, just like thousands of other teenage girls longing to make it in the creative arts. However, it is not until you hear Loreena’s story that you really appreciate who this person is about and why it is so important for her message to be heard.

Loreena began showing symptoms of TS around the age of 7, although she was not diagnosed until she was 15. Loreena’s symptoms started to get worse at the age of 13, she would scream with frustration at the uncontrollable and painful movements she experienced, with neighbours calling the police and ambulance on many occasions lost as to what was going on and how to help. Years of physical suffering without any explanation, and being the target of many bullies, resulted in Loreena becoming very depressed and angry. To the extent that when she was finally diagnosed in 2014, Loreena was admitted to an adolescent unit where she stayed for several months before being discharged and returning to school.

Despite the adversity that Loreena faced, she attended the famous Sylvia Young theatre school every Saturday, taking classes in singing, drama, dance and tap.

“Singing has always been a part of me and it helps me so much with my TS, so much so that when I am singing or when I am writing a song I don’t tic at all because I am concentrating on something I love to do”.

This quote from Loreena is something that many people with TS can relate to – whether it is singing, playing an instrument, playing a sport etc. Singing is the thing that brings Loreena relief – a place of peace that she can return to when she needs to. However, Loreena doesn’t want to only help herself; she sees singing and music as a way to help and inspire others with TS. She wants people to know that despite your condition or your circumstances, you are the author of your life – “your life is not written, you make your life as you live”. Wise words Loreena. Living with the emotions and physical challenges of TS, and the stress of being severely bullied throughout her school life has in Ellie’s words “made me a whole lot stronger.”

Loreena wants people with TS to believe in themselves as individuals, to express themselves in the world and follow their dreams.

“The message I want people with TS to understand is that no matter how hard things are in your life with your tics and your stress, everything will be okay in the end, you just have to believe in yourself.”

Loreena is certainly proof of this. And the bigger picture is to become known beyond the TS community so that she can raise awareness about TS in society. We wish Loreena every bit of luck with her dreams and her future – not that she really needs luck. Her determination, positive attitude, and of course talent, will propel her exactly to where she wants to go.

Check out Loreena's video on our video wall

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