by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Nadia Burelli

Age: 34

Occupation: Daycare worker

Bio: This modest and endearing Boisbriand babe had been having a fairly rough time of things before the good people at Deserving Divas heard her story and decided to make everything right again by way of… what else? That’s right, a complete makeover! Since August 2005, poor Nadia’s suffered through: one tragic car accident, one serious bout with pericarditis (“a viral infection of the lining of the heart”) and, of course, last but not least, one unrelated miscarriage claiming the life of what would have been her first child. Unbeknownst to Nadia, however, her sister, recognizing Nadia was feeling kinda bummed, fired off a letter to Deserving Divas (www.deservingdivas.com)—an organization of “empowered” Montreal women—“making me sound real pathetic, and then one day [last month] I got an e-mail saying I’d won their makeover. What a great surprise!”

Was her initial reaction to winning something akin to, “Wha? A makeover?! Sheesh, thanks a lot, sis, maybe take a look at your own dogface sometime!”? “Nah, I didn’t take it as an insult at all. It was just my sister wanting me to finally relax and be pampered—which just isn’t something I’ve ever allowed myself to do. It wasn’t because I look pathetic, but because she knew I needed to learn how to take care of myself.”

Is it safe to assume a surprise makeover will effectively numb any possible sadness a miscarriage might send a person’s way? “No, I’d much rather still be pregnant, but at least I know now that I actually can get pregnant, and that makes me happy. And I’ll get pregnant again, I’m sure of it!”

One of many things she received in her transformation from frump to made-over goddess: “A consultation with an image consultant, Gisèle Demers, who was so fantastic. She went into everything; what kind of neckline I should wear, what type of pants, the length of my skirts, she did my colours, and you know what season I am? Autumn. I spent all day at the Avanti Spa, fantastic people, fantastic place. Imagine, there I am having a pedicure done, you know, with this stuff between my toes, and these people keep coming up and asking if there’s anything they can get me. Do I want a coffee? Tea? Can you imagine? It was really something!”

Another thing she won: “Hush Puppies that were worth, like, 180 bucks! Imagine? But they’re very nice.”

Where she traditionally goes shoe shopping: Yellow.

Where she traditionally goes clothes shopping: Croteau. “I’m not a rich person.”

Something Nadia’s done that you probably haven’t: Completed the 2004 Iron Man Canada competition—a 3.8-kilometre swim, followed immediately by a 180-km bike ride and a 42.2-km run. “I completed it all in 12 hours and 15 minutes. No stopping.”

Last book read: Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry.

Musical preferences: Nirvana, Mozart, Howard Jones, Bach.

Fave TV shows: House, CSI, ER.

Words of wisdom: “Take time out to treat yourself—spiritually, emotionally, physically, just somehow treat yourself. Not everyday, but once in awhile, maybe once a week.”

Comments? dimwit@hdot.net