Woman, 21, left needing both legs amputated after her legs started bending the wrong way
A woman has spoken about her experience of needing both legs amputated after struggling with a debilitating condition for years.
Megan Dixon, 21, from Cambridgeshire in the UK, suffers from functional neurological disorder (FND) and has been battling constant pain for the past eight years.
Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a condition which represents an issue with the signalling between the brain and the rest of the body.
After suffering with pain for so many years, Megan says she has been left with no other choice but to have both legs amputated and is fundraising for an electric wheelchair after having not been able to walk since the age of 14.
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"It was the hardest when I met with the amputee clinic and they said amputation was my best and only option," Megan explained.
"I was hoping deep down they would say there was another way.
"But this is my reality now and I haven't fully come to terms with it yet."
Megan first began suffering at the age of 13 and was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). However, despite having physiotherapy, her legs locked straight.
"From there I got worse and worse," she explained.
"I started to go into a comatose-like state. When I was 16, I stopped being able to sit up by myself and I started to lose the ability to speak.
"My paediatrician was concerned I'd had a stroke so I was rushed to hospital. I was supposed to be in for tests over four days - I came out a year and a half later."
Megan lost her speech, her mobility, strength and sight, became paralysed from the neck down and was diagnosed with FND.
"I could feel my bones in my legs grating together but I kept being told the pain was in my head and it wasn't real," she said.
"I was silently screaming for 24-hours a day. When I went into a coma-like state, I had no idea what was going on. No one could wake me up.
"My legs were completely locked straight and even under anaesthetic, they couldn't bend my knees.
"My left leg had started to bend the wrong way by ten degrees."
Megan explained that she was discharged from the children's hospital at the age of 18 but claims she was left with no help.
"I had essentially been left to rot and die in bed," she claimed.
"My family complained about my care and I was sent to a private nursing home specialising in neurological disorders. I was completely paralysed from the neck down and I had to work on getting all of my functions back. But equally my legs got worse and worse.
"I'd seen six different surgeons and was turned away by five.
"When I finally found a surgeon to help me, it had been so long that the damage in my knees was irreversible.
"My left knee is bent at a 45 degree angle and my right is close behind. My only option left is amputation."
Megan is due to have her legs amputated in August and is fundraising for an electric wheelchair and other medical equipment.
She added: "If something doesn’t feel right in your body, please listen to it and trust yourself. For six years I was dismissed, and as a result the only surgery now available to me is, regrettably, amputation.
"If you are facing amputation, I want to be honest with you—there are no words that can truly make it easier. It is a devastating and life-changing experience, and something I would never wish on anyone.
"... Keep fighting for the life that comes after. None of us should have to face something like this, but if it leads to a future where life is a little more bearable, a little less painful, and holds more independence. Then all of this will be worth it."
You can find Megan's GoFundMe here.
Lucy Devine