A moment of madness changed the course of my life. But I was determined to fight back. By Chelsea-Leanne Flynn, 22
I heard my name being called but, as I swung around to see who wanted me, I wasn’t prepared for the sight that met my eyes.
Bearing down on me was a girl I knew – and she looked absolutely furious.
‘You!’ she shouted at me. ‘You’ve been flirting with my boyfriend!’
‘No I haven’t,’ I replied, shocked.
I had no idea where she’d got that notion from. It simply wasn’t true.
She wasn’t prepared to let it drop, though.
As I turned away, suddenly I felt hands grip my head and in the next moment I was being pushed down. There was a sickening crack as the side of my jaw hit the ground.
Pain flooded through me.
It was so bad, it took my breath away and I couldn’t move.
By the time I staggered to my feet, the girl had run off. But there was blood dripping down my front and I realised I’d been badly hurt.
I’d been out walking my dog Ruby and somehow we managed to get home.
When my dad opened the front door, he gasped.
‘My God what happened?’ he said.
I burst into tears.
Dad put his arms around me and, through my sobs, I told him about the girl and the attack.
‘I’m calling the police,’ he said.
An officer arrived and listened as I explained but because the girl was so young, all he could do was give her a warning.
I felt it wasn’t enough.
I thought, She’s got away with it.
'Doctor, I can't feel my legs'
But I had more to worry about when Mum and Dad persuaded me to see the doctor and I was diagnosed with a dislocated jaw.
It explained the pain but, in hospital, eight agonising attempts to move my jaw back into its socket failed and in the end the doctor told me, ‘You’ll need surgery.’
Fortunately, that went well and afterwards, I tried to put the whole thing behind me.
However, a year on, I
was play-fighting with a friend when her knee accidentally hit my face
and I heard a pop.
Oh no, I thought.
She came with me to hospital where my worst fears were confirmed.
My jaw had been dislocated again.
And this time, the doctor said, ‘You’ll need surgery to wire it shut.’
The thought terrified me, but I had no choice.
After the operation, I couldn’t eat solid food for a few months. And a further examination found my jaw had been so badly damaged that I needed more surgery.
Over the next three years, I had six operations with screws and bands fitted in my jaw and then a further procedure was schedule to have them removed.
Because of the Covid pandemic, my parents couldn’t come with me and being in hospital on my own was terrifying.
The surgeon told me the operation would only take an hour but when I came round three hours had gone by. And that wasn’t all.
As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I thought, Why can’t I feel my legs?
I told myself it was probably a result of the anaesthetic but, as minutes turned into hours, I started to panic.
‘Doctor, I can’t feel my legs,’ I said.
I had tests and MRI and CT scans. And while I waited for the results, I nodded off. When I woke up again, I got a horrible shock.
The numbness I’d felt in my legs was still there but it had spread upwards to my hips and then to my waist.
I couldn’t feel anything from there downwards.
‘I want to see my mum and dad,’ I said, panicking.
But Covid restrictions meant I was on my own when the doctor broke devastating news.
‘You’ve had an extremely rare reaction to the anaesthetic,’ he said.
He told me it was called functional neurological disorder – or FND for short. It meant there was a problem with my nervous system and how my brain and body sent signals to each other.
‘It’s caused paralysis from the waist down,’ he said.
My mind whirled with questions and, when Mum was allowed to see me, she was the one to voice them.
‘Will she ever walk again?’ she asked the doctor.
‘It’s very unlikely,’ he said.
Aged 18, it felt as if my life was over.
No one could explain how it had happened. The anaesthetic was the same one used in all my other operations without any issue, and an investigation concluded the surgeon wasn’t at fault.
But that didn’t help me. I was stuck in bed and, when I began physio, three nurses had to support my body weight as I struggled to stand.
'Will she ever walk again?'
I grasped the bars and tried to stay upright but, after just a few seconds, I felt so dizzy the nurses had to lie me back down.
Is it going to be like this forever? I thought.
Stuck in hospital, I could feel that my thoughts were spiralling so, to help me cope, I started documenting my recovery with funny videos on TikTok.
Having fun and a laugh helped to lift my mood.
In time, I was given a wheelchair but I knew I wanted to get back on my feet again, and working with an occupational therapist really helped.
She told me, ‘You’ll need a lot of determination and positivity if you’re to have any chance of walking again.’
That spurred me on.
At home in Thanet, Kent, Mum and Dad became my full-time carers.
I hated feeling like a burden but I was put on a waiting list for a rehabilitation centre which specialised in FND and brain injuries and I made it my goal to get on my feet before I got there.
It was hard though.
I had physiotherapy every week but I couldn’t sit up for more than five minutes let alone get out of bed.
On my bad days, I’d say to Mum, ‘I want to give up.’
But she told me, ‘Keep going, love, we’re so proud of you.’
So I did.
With her words and those of the occupational therapist ringing in my ears, I kept at it and, a few months later, I was able to stand up for more than a few seconds.
I still needed a lot of support but everyone was so proud.
‘Well done, love,’ Mum said, tears in her eyes.
I kept going and, a year on, my doctor called to say there was a place for me at the rehab centre.
As it was live-in and two and a half hours away, it meant leaving my family and friends. I hated the thought of that but I also knew it was my best chance of improving.
Meeting other people with FND helped me feel less alone and I kept posting my videos to TikTok where I attracted 22,000 followers.
People sent me lovely messages and that helped me to stay positive.
With a lot of perseverance, I managed to stand up unaided and even walk short distances and I was thrilled but, unfortunately, a car accident which broke my jaw set me back again and caused my FND to get worse.
So I’ve been using my wheelchair more recently which is frustrating.
But after another operation, I’m determined to get back to walking unaided again.
At 22, my life is only just beginning and I’m determined to live it to the max.
I’ve proved the doctors wrong once. I can do it again.
• Follow Chelsea-Leanne on TikTok at @chelseaflynn_x