Woman given just five years to live after doctor mistakenly thought symptoms were due to stress
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Ben Birchall/PA
A woman who was told that she was stressed as a result of her divorce turned out to have a much more serious illness.
Diana Keys' 35-year marriage ended in 2019 and a year later she noticed that she's started 'falling over for no reason' and her speech began to deteriorate.
Diana, 65, from Somerset, UK, sought medical advice and testing, with a consultant believing her symptoms were 'functional due to stress from (her) divorce' – but she was 'adamant' this was not the case.
Recalling the symptoms she experienced, Diana told PA: "I fell over in the bathroom and hit my head in the shower and, after that happened two or three times, I contacted the GP."
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Diana’s doctor referred her to a consultant neurologist at the local hospital, where she underwent electromyography (EMG), which measures the electrical activity in the muscles.
She said the consultant thought her symptoms were just stress after her divorce, but she 'knew that wasn’t the case'.
After then experiencing fasciculation (muscle twitching) and noticing her voice was deteriorating, she pushed for further testing.
In May 2023, three years after her symptoms started, Diana was told she had motor neurone disease (MND) which was of course a 'huge shock'.
MND is a rare condition which progressively damages parts of the nervous system and leads to muscle weakness.
It is usually life-shortening and there is no cure, but treatment can manage the symptoms, which can include stiff or weak hands, weak legs and feet, and twitches, spasms or muscle cramps.
There are four main types of MND: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Progressive Bulbar Palsy, Progressive Muscular Atrophy, and Primary Lateral Sclerosis.
She said she was 'hysterical' and found her diagnosis difficult to accept, particularly as the condition is incurable and invariably fatal.
"I remember the consultant just saying, ‘There is no cure, and the prognosis is between two and five years.'"
Despite the bleak outlook that an MDN diagnosis may bring, Diana is remaining positive.
"I keep looking for a sell-by date code on me, but there isn’t one, so I just keep going,” Diana said. "I can be a glass half empty person sometimes but, since my diagnosis, I’ve tried not to bring other people down – I try to be stoic.
"I try to keep a sense of humour and count my blessings, so I’ve got a lot to live for."
Diana added: "My progression is relatively slow, so I’m hoping that I’ll get as long as I can."