Laura’s Story | FND Awareness Day UK 2026

My name is Laura. I’m 35 years old, and until Jan this year I had never heard of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND).

On 3rd Jan I was admitted to hospital feeling unwell. The following day I experienced my 1st non-epileptic seizure. It was terrifying, but one of my best friends was with me and held my hand the entire time.

Over the next week things escalated quickly. The seizures continued, I developed tremors and tics, and then suddenly became non-verbal on 10th January and diagnosed with FND. Soon after, I lost movement in the left side of my body, then the right, leaving me completely immobile. My body became numb and seizures intensified, my worst day being over 60 seizures in 24 hours. I also began experiencing memory loss.For 8 weeks I was completely non-verbal.

I learnt to communicate by typing with my nose, or writing with a pen or stylus held by mouth.

As of today I am still not mobile and rely entirely on healthcare assistants. My speech is slowly returning but often disappears again after seizures. I missed both of my daughters’ birthdays and still cannot recall them due to memory loss.

Support from my friends has been everything. They have advocated for me when I had no voice, held my hand through the darkest days, and surrounded me with endless love. My goal now is to complete a half marathon in September.

My name is Laura, I have FND but I refuse to let it define me!

~ By Laura, Age 35