Roy Keene’s daughter Kara has bravely told of her battle with lupus, which left her bedridden for months. In 2021, at the age of 29, Kara was diagnosed with this chronic autoimmune disease. The disease prompts the body’s immune system to attack its own healthy tissues.
When she started experiencing symptoms such as skin blisters, joint pain and hair loss, she sought medical help. Kara, who was working as a teacher in Manchester at the time, was forced to resign due to the severity of her symptoms. Despite these challenges, Kara is now firmly on the road to recovery and her gut-friendly cereal brand Superkeen is thriving.
Her resilience has brought immense pride to her father, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, especially given the health challenges she has endured.
In a candid interview with talkSPORT, she spoke about the hard work she has put into her business and opened up about her battles with health. She recalled: “That was about five years ago.
“I started experiencing a variety of symptoms, from joint pain to hair loss and skin blisters. At the time, I thought it was stress.”
“I was teaching and I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m really tired.’ I was falling asleep at the wheel or something. I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, this is a little weird,’ and all I was thinking was, ‘Right, let’s see how this goes. Must be stress.'”
“Up until that point, I was physically unable to move and was basically bedridden for about three months. I was also unable to teach. I’ve always been a sports fan and loved being active, so it was a real shock when I couldn’t do that anymore.
“That’s when I started researching gut health and overall health. I had never heard of lupus until I was diagnosed, so that was one of the things that really shocked me when I heard about it.”
Kara is one of Keene’s five children with his wife Teresa.
She has three sisters named Alana, Shannon, and Leah and one younger brother named Aidan.
When the United captain hit the headlines, he and Teresa did their best to keep their children out of the spotlight.
Now they’re all grown up and doing all they can to publicly support their children’s adventures.
When asked what role her famous father and mother have played, Kara added: “Me and my mom go and we do all the food events. I love that part and I love chatting with people. They’ve been involved in everything from moral support to checking in on me.”
“They say, ‘How are you doing?’ And they love spending time with their families. So I take them to these food events.”
Keane also promoted the brand by featuring some of the cereal on the Stick to Football podcast, where he was joined by Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Jill Scott and other guests. After handing out the boxes, he declared: “My daughter Cara started a health company and I’m proud of her. I’m very proud of her.”
Wright responded, “I’m really happy, and I’m not just saying that, considering what she’s been through, but it’s delicious. I’m really happy for her.”
