Vitl advert features Watford woman caring for disabled mum

Amelia Dixon, 26, from Watford had to part ways with her roller-skating passion after being diagnosed with scoliosis at the age of 15 and going under urgent surgery.

While the surgery was a success, her recovery meant she had around 10 years without skating and instead she looked to dancing as an outlet.

But then life took a turn for the worse during her studies at West Herts College after her mother suffered a stroke.

Ms Dixon said: “I had my end of first year show the night before and I tried to call my mum and she wasn’t speaking properly over the phone. I didn’t know if she was at home or in a ditch somewhere.

“I rang my friend, who rang the doorbell at home and I could hear it through my mum’s line so I knew she was in there.”

“My life was just completely put on pause. I really lost myself. I didn’t dance. I didn’t skate. I couldn’t even get myself dressed,” she added.

Her mother then spent more than two years in different hospitals, a rehabilitation centre and three separate care homes.

It eventually came to a point where Ms Dixon realised she had to take matters into her own hands and look after her mum herself in her one-bedroom, 6th floor flat in Watford.

Since moving in, the roller-skater has been urgently calling Watford Borough Council to make the site suitable for her mum’s disability.

Amelia managed to relive her youth with her roller skates in a Vitl tv advert

She said she: “calls (the council) almost every day to try and get some sort of support.”

“I know my mum is better off with me than in a care home as I can see the improvements she’s making each day. Despite everything we’ve been through, I’m incredibly fortunate to have an independent mum. She can feed herself but she does still need help with showering and getting dressed.”

For her “peace of mind”, CCTV is set up in the house and her mother is equipped with an alarm to summon Ms Dixon if she is away.

She said: “She has spent a lot of time getting upset and feeling guilty for me missing out on a lot of my young adult life, but I’m so appreciative for the time I get to spend with her everyday.

“I don’t have to go to a 9-5 job that I get anxious about. Instead, I get to spend time with my mum, helping her to practice her speech, creating things like jewellery and even finding time to watch films together. It’s a blessing.”

Her dream of dancing took a backseat after having to dedicate much of her time in looking after her mum, but in recent years she was able to pick up skating once more.

Personalised nutrition company Vitl has since launched a new TV advert featuring Ms Dixon.

The advert was looking for a roller-skater, and Ms Dixon knew she “simply couldn’t turn down” the opportunity.

Jonathan Relph, CEO of Vitl.com, said: “As soon as we saw Amelia skate, we just knew she epitomises everything we represent.

“Aside from her simply effortless roller-skating style, her backstory is absolutely inspirational. We set out to find a brilliant roller-skater for our advert, but didn’t realise we would find such an incredible person in the process.”

The advert campaign, with the overall message of ‘feeling 100 per cent’ has been running on Channel 4 since April 5 and will continue for a month.