She first revealed her diagnosis to fans back in July and lost the use of her legs for two months
Lisa McHugh has said her functional neurological disorder (FND) diagnosis earlier this year has been a “wake-up call” for her.
The country music singer, who lives in Co Fermanagh, shared the news of the diagnosis with fans back in July, and has revealed that she lost the use of her legs for two months.
Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a condition where there are problems with how the brain sends and receives signals, leading to symptoms like functional seizures, limb weakness or paralysis, tremor and numbness.
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In Lisa’s case, FND caused her to lose function in both of her legs, meaning she had to learn how to walk again using a walking frame. She also experienced severe pain in her face, as well as debilitating headaches.
The singer told fans at the time of her diagnosis that she would be talking time away from music to focus on her recovery.
She is now on the road to recovery, but admitted the experience has taught her to look after herself and her body more.
“Today I can walk, I can drive and I have my independence back again, which is a huge thing,” she said. “I’m still on the recovery journey and I will eventually be 100%, but I’ve had a chance to reset my life and from now on I know what can happen if you don’t look after yourself and you don’t look after your body. “It’s been my wake-up call.”
Speaking to the Sunday World, she opened up on how her symptoms came on at the end of June before she ended up in hospital for 10 days with extreme pain.
“I had a Pilates class on the Monday and I felt my balance was way off,” she recalled. “And when I came out of the class I was walking to the car but I ended up nearly walking into the building and I had to keep pulling myself out.
“Then I got a weakness in my left arm, so I immediately rang the doctor who sent me straight to AandE where they did tests for stroke and things like that. Thankfully they all came back clear.
“That was on the Tuesday, and on the Wednesday and Thursday I was in bed most of the day. On Friday I had a gig and when I came off stage I had to be sick straight away. I was in the toilet being sick with a pain in my head and face. I just really wasn’t well.”
She continued: “The following evening I was sitting on the sofa, Mum and Dad were helping with the kids, sorting out dinner, and all of a sudden my left leg felt very heavy and I tried to lift it and move it and it just wouldn’t go anywhere. And that was the start of it.
“My mum took me up to the hospital straight away and things progressed pretty quickly. During the examination the doctor asked me to lift my right leg and I couldn’t lift that one. Both of them were gone in the space of a couple of hours.”
She has credited Irish bioenergy healer Michael O’Doherty with helping her recovery.
“He had no doubt that he was going to get me better and that alone, having that security, takes the pressure off,” said Lisa. “His job is to get the energy flowing throughout the body. He’s not physically touching but you feel you’re being pulled by the magnetism in his hands.
“Michael is someone I feel very, very lucky to have met and someone I feel that could help so many people.”
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