Woman left paralyzed after suffering spinal stroke she thought was back pain
A British woman was left paralyzed after suffering what she thought was just back pain.
Lucy Dunford, who was 19 at the time, began experiencing ‘stabbing pains’ between her shoulder blades in December 2024 - but she wasn’t taken to hospital until weeks later when the pain became ‘unbearable,’ the Yorkshire Post reports.
She became too weak to walk, as well as suffering from pins and needles in her hands and feet.
After three weeks of being in hospital, the team suggested Lucy could have suffered from a spinal stroke, but it wasn’t until April, four months later, that she was fully diagnosed.
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During the first three weeks, Lucy was sent through a number of tests, including a full body MRI and revealed that many tests said she was ‘perfectly healthy’.
What is a spinal stroke?
MayoClinic states: “A spinal cord stroke occurs when the blood supply to the spinal cord stops. When the blood supply is cut off, the spinal cord can’t get oxygen and nutrients.”
When this occurs, the tissues of the spinal cord may not be able to send nerve impulses to the body, which are vital for movement and organ function.
However, these strokes only account for less than two percent of all strokes, making them much less common than strokes which affect the brain.
Now, one year on from the official diagnosis, the 21-year-old is wheelchair bound and paralyzed from the neck down, and is only able to move her arms.
'There is no such thing as a simple task anymore'
“Words can't describe how life has changed after a spinal cord injury. Everything is difficult, there is no such thing as a simple task anymore,” she told the Yorkshire Post.
“As soon as I wake up there are obstacles such as spasms making is very difficult so it takes me a long time just to sit on the end of the bed before having to use all my strength to get into my chair.”
'Everything I used to love about my life has been snatched away'
Lucy now suffers from spasms in her body, as she told the publication that her legs and core, which she can’t control, move involuntarily, even sometimes ‘throwing’ her out of her chair.
“The best way I can describe the pain is like if all the blood in my veins was replaced with larva - my whole body from neck down was on fire,” she said.
“Everything I used to love about my life has been snatched away from me, I can't have a day off or to be able to have a chill day in bed because I'm at risk of pressure sores.”
Lucy’s sister, Abbie, has now created a GoFundMe page to ‘Help Lucy Reclaim Her Life’ after the harrowing ordeal. She states the family have found specialist treatment outside of England, for which they have set up the fundraiser page to fund.
“We are already working toward a specialized treatment that costs £20,000 (not including flights). This GoFundMe is specifically to raise the £10,000 ($13,500) needed for the intensive follow-up physiotherapy required after that treatment,” she wrote - with a goal of £3,500 ($4,700).
If you would like to donate to Lucy's fundraiser, you can do so here.
Kiesha Dosanjh