Han’s Story | FND Awareness Day UK 2026

I used to measure my life in miles and moments. Early mornings behind the wheel, music loud, windows down, racing the sunrise to lectures. University was freedom with late-night study sessions, spontaneous drives with friends, laughing until our stomachs hurt. Life felt wide open, like a road that never ended. I was busy living it, fast and full.

Then one ordinary afternoon, everything changed.

I remember being on campus, talking to someone about an assignment. My words suddenly felt heavy, like they were getting stuck somewhere between my brain and my mouth. The ground tilted. My legs refused to hold me. Then darkness rushed in.

When I woke up, people were around me. Voices blurred together. Someone said my name over and over. My body trembled, but I couldn’t control it. Later came more episodes shaking, collapsing, moments where my legs simply stopped working. Temporary paralysis. Each time it felt like my own body had turned against me.

Hospitals, tests, questions. Scan after scan that showed nothing “wrong.” Yet everything felt wrong.

Eventually a doctor said the words: Functional Neurological Disorder.

It sounded strange a condition where the brain and body lose communication, where symptoms are real and fluctuate daily.

But life didn’t end I may need a wheelchair but I rock it! Be proud of who you are!

~ By Han, Age 30