In the last 3 years my husband has been involved in two different road traffic accidents. The first and little more serious was in 2014 whilst he was at work. On this occasion he suffered initially with whiplash and concussion. This later manifested itself a few months later into Post Concussion Syndrome, Non Epileptic Attack Disorder and the start of his PTSD (flashbacks relating to work related trauma). The second was in March 2017. It was following on from this, his back went into spasm. By May 2017 his symptoms had worsened and he was admitted to hospital for further investigation. What had begun as a back spasm had progressed to something much worse. He had lost control of his limbs on the right side of his body, his speech was slurred and he had developed jerks and twitches throughout his body.

He has now been diagnosed with a Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), alongside Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder (NEAD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety and Depression.

He suffers daily with a number of symptoms, including functional tremor in the right side of his body, limb weakness, functional jerks and twitching, chronic pain from the head to the soles of the feet, fatigue, vocal tics, facial spasms affecting the mouth and right eye and fleeting electric shock sensations. Some of the symptoms are intermittent others are a constant.

A neurologist used the analogy that while the hardware seems to be all intact it is a software problem as a consequence of previous post-traumatic stress and the trigger in my husband’s case, being the minor road traffic accident which set off the brains memory of past stresses and trauma the body had previously experienced.

FND is due to a problem with the functioning of the nervous system and thought to be the result of the brain’s inability to send and receive signals properly. Anyone can be affected and the disorder can be as debilitating as Parkinson’s disease and MS and have many similar symptoms. There is a misconception that patients are in control of their symptoms, however, the symptoms are real and not in the mind.

Very few effective treatment plans exist. Researchers, money, and volunteers are greatly needed. In an effort to raise awareness and some desperately needed funds, I have signed up to run a 10k race at Tatton Park, Sunday 8thApril in aid of FND Action a charity which we’ve turned to for help and support, both for my husband and myself as his carer. Their facebook support group has proved very beneficial at times when I’ve struggled to know what to do for the best