{"id":895,"date":"2026-04-24T14:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/waking-up-paralyzed-the-reality-of-living-with-fnd\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T21:43:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:43:50","slug":"waking-up-paralyzed-the-reality-of-living-with-fnd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/waking-up-paralyzed-the-reality-of-living-with-fnd\/","title":{"rendered":"Waking Up Paralyzed: The Reality of Living with FND"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This morning, I woke up and couldn\u2019t move my legs at all. Complete paralysis. It lasted about an hour\u2014but in that moment, it felt endless. Fear set in quickly. I didn\u2019t know what to do, so I stayed still, waiting, hoping. Slowly, the feeling came back.

But the day didn\u2019t get easier.

When I finally got up, my feet felt like they were weighed down. Every step was heavy. Fatigue hit hard and without warning. The brain fog was intense\u2014everything felt slower, harder, like I was moving through resistance just to get through basic tasks at work.

Physio helped ease some of the pain, but by the time I drove home, I was completely drained. My legs and feet were burning. Getting out of the car felt like a challenge on its own. My eyes were heavy, my body exhausted.

This is the reality of living with FND (Functional Neurological Disorder).
One moment you\u2019re active, strong, independent\u2014and the next, your body doesn\u2019t respond. It\u2019s unpredictable. It\u2019s frustrating. And it\u2019s real.

I\u2019m holding onto hope that this is temporary. That I will find my way back to a version of \u201cnormal.\u201d But for now, this is my fight. And awareness matters\u2014because so many people are silently going through battles just like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning, I woke up and couldn\u2019t move my legs at all. Complete paralysis. It lasted about an hour\u2014but in that moment, it felt endless. Fear set in quickly. I didn\u2019t know what to do, so I stayed still, waiting, hoping. Slowly, the feeling came back. But the day didn\u2019t get easier. When I finally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[166],"tags":[169],"class_list":["post-895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-life-with-fnd","tag-fndawareness-invisibleillness-chronicstruggle-neurologicaldisorder-keepfighting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file_000000009d4071f7bb79019dbd70fba6.png?fit=651%2C868&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":893,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/from-paralysis-to-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":895,"position":0},"title":"From Paralysis to Power","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"24 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Today felt like a completely different world compared to yesterday. Waking up unable to move, facing that moment of paralysis, was terrifying. But today, I was back on my feet\u2014at the gym, moving, pushing, and feeling somewhat like myself again.A constant tremor in my right arm stayed with me, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My life with FND"","block_context":{"text":"My life with FND","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/my-life-with-fnd\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file_00000000b04471f587cb8544c8b4665d-1.png?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file_00000000b04471f587cb8544c8b4665d-1.png?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/file_00000000b04471f587cb8544c8b4665d-1.png?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":890,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/18\/living-in-the-in-between-my-life-with-fnd\/","url_meta":{"origin":895,"position":1},"title":"Living in the In-Between: My Life with FND","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"18 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Some days, my body feels like a stranger I\u2019m forced to share space with.Living with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is not something you can fully explain to someone who hasn\u2019t experienced it. It\u2019s unpredictable, complex, and often invisible. One moment, I can feel almost like myself again \u2014 moving, thinking,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My life with FND"","block_context":{"text":"My life with FND","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/my-life-with-fnd\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260417-WA0012-scaled.jpeg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260417-WA0012-scaled.jpeg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260417-WA0012-scaled.jpeg?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":897,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/my-body-pauses-my-spirit-doesnt\/","url_meta":{"origin":895,"position":2},"title":"My Body Pauses, My Spirit Doesn\u2019t","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"27 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I woke up with my legs paralysed again. That familiar fear crept in\u2014but so did something stronger: determination. As the feeling slowly returned, I stretched, breathed through it, and made a decision\u2026 I was going to run.Connor, my usual partner in crime, is recovering after surgery, and my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My life with FND"","block_context":{"text":"My life with FND","link":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/category\/my-life-with-fnd\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260426_161105_284.webp?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260426_161105_284.webp?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/debruyn-walters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260426_161105_284.webp?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":886,"url":"https:\/\/debruyn-walters.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/18\/falling-hard-rising-stronger\/","url_meta":{"origin":895,"position":3},"title":"Falling Hard, Rising Stronger","author":"Rey De Bruyn-Walters","date":"18 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Sunday reminded me just how quickly things can change. 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