Megan Dixon shared how a four-day hospital stay turned into two years, leaving her completely paralyzed and unable to talk or see by the time she left
The then-teen was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), according to the BBC
After 18 months of physical therapy, Dixon’s symptoms drastically improved, and she is now able to talk and see, though she said she’ll never be able to walk again
A 20-year-old woman shared how she was admitted to the hospital as a teen for four days of tests and ended up spending two years there and was completely paralyzed by the time she left.
Megan Dixon told the BBC how she started feeling unwell at the age of 13; by 16, her condition had worsened so much that she was hospitalized after losing the ability to speak.
“I was taken into hospital because they were concerned I had had a stroke, or something, because I lost the ability to talk,” Dixon said, per the outlet. “I was taken for four days of tests and came out of hospital two years later.”
As well as being paralyzed, Dixon was unable to talk or open her eyes and she was told she would never move again.
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A person doing physiotherapy
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The then-teen was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which “features nervous system (neurological) symptoms that can’t be explained by a neurological disease or other medical condition,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Typically, this disorder affects your movement or your senses, such as the ability to walk, swallow, see or hear.”
The cause of FND is unknown.
After leaving the hospital, Dixon stayed in a neurological care facility in the east of England.
“It was not easy. I think it was a lot harder for my mum and dad to have to leave me there on my own, but I couldn’t do anything for myself. I was paralysed from the neck down,” she told the BBC.
“I couldn’t see, I couldn’t talk. I hate the word, but I was very vulnerable at the time,” she noted, adding that she “nearly died” in the hospital and doctors told her parents to “prepare for the worst.”
She continued of her symptoms, which also included not being able to swallow and having up to 50 seizures a day at her worst, “I couldn’t do anything for myself, I lost the ability to talk. I couldn’t see, so I wasn’t able to open my eyes. My brain couldn’t register the difference between eyes closed and eyes being open.”
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An MRI scan
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However, after 18 months of physical therapy, Dixon’s symptoms drastically improved.
“I can move everything now. Obviously I can talk, I can see. I can’t walk and I’m never going to be able to walk again, but that’s because I’ve got contractions in my knees,” she told the BBC.
“I need surgery in order to bend them because my legs are stuck straight. It’s very painful, but I’m waiting on surgery, and it means I’m never going to be able to walk again,” she added.
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Dixon shares her experience with FND on TikTok under the account @megsdixon, detailing everything from her seizures, using a self-propelled wheelchair for the first time and how she was able to walk without support in a swimming pool at the start of this year.
One video shows Dixon using stairs for the first time in over three years, using her arms to pull herself up and lower herself back down again.
And with her life far different than it once was, she’s now looking forward to moving into her own home and has dreams of becoming a nail technician.
“Every small victory, whether it’s moving a finger, speaking a word, or simply making it through another day is worth celebrating,” she told the BBC. “They didn’t think I would make it to 18 and here I am at 20.”
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