Waking up one day in February this year, I let out a pained groan. I often awoke feeling rubbish, and today, my left hand was numb.
Aged 6, I’d been diagnosed with scoliosis, syringomyelia and Chiari malformation.
It meant I had a twisted spine and fluid build-ups around my spinal cord, causing bone pain and headaches. On bad days, I’d have chest pain and sickness, too.
As a child, I had countless operations, but nothing worked.
And, after a gruelling four procedures in six days, I was left temporarily paralysed and in a wheelchair. I did recover, but I needed a walking frame at 16.
By 18, though, I was back in a wheelchair for good. That’s when I was diagnosed with syringobulbia, which can cause paralysis and weakness in…
