My life over the last few years has caused me a lot of pain and suffering, mentally and physically. This is a result of my physical health conditioning. I have spinal arthritis which causes me severe back pain and sore/stiff joints. I also suffer from IBS and tennis elbow. These conditions make me feel drained emotionally and they cause me a lot of physical pain. I have been constantly frustrated with myself all the time as I just wished for my body to feel how it used to be, normal and healthy.

I started to lose my mobility a few years back. It all began with my leg. My leg would collapse on me and I lost control of being able to walk normally. Losing control of my leg affected the way my foot would work as my foot began to drag along the ground holding the weight from my leg collapsing and would cause me to trip and fall regularly. My thinking was that I should just get my leg removed as it felt useless to me and did nothing but make my life even more difficult. In the morning when I wake up, it takes me a long time to get moving. My hand stiffens up and it feels very claw-like and not like my own hand anymore. It takes me a long time to stretch my body out or as I say, defrost my body so I am then able to get on and start my day. 

I was feeling very frustrated as I was getting no answers about what was causing me to lose my mobility to walk normally and this really scared me. Eventually, after a lot of tests with professionals, I was diagnosed with the condition FND. After researching FND and having the symptoms explained to me,  I felt great relief as I finally had a diagnosis and I knew I wasn’t the only person in the world who had this condition. 

I was asked to take part in a research trial for FND and agreed to go ahead with it. I am very grateful for this opportunity as I know this will help others with FND to better understand their condition/improve their life living with FND. The trial was absolutely life-changing for me! I have seen a huge improvement with my health and I have learned a lot about my condition.  Looking back on videos from the beginning of the trial and seeing how I was walking, I could see how bad my walking was. After the trial, my walking has improved greatly! I now know how to deal with my bad days and to be less hard on myself when I feel like I’m not doing so good. Family and friends have seen a huge improvement with the way I walk and my confidence. 

I cannot thank everyone involved in this research trial enough. It was a great challenge for me and it has had a huge positive impact on my life, thank you.