When Emily Balfour visited her GP after an ice-skating accident, she was diagnosed with a string of rare health conditions that changed her life forever

Once a sporty and active teenager, Emily Balfour is now mostly bed bound.

A trip to the doctors after an ice-skating accident when she was 14 uncovered a cascade of health problems that now see her suffer from 'relentless levels of pain'.
The incident in 2011 saw her diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) - a collection of rare conditions affecting the connective tissues that make her joints unstable and prone to dislocation.

Emily, now 25, was told she also has craniocervical instability (CCI), meaning the area where her skull and spine meet is dangerously unstable

Horrifyingly, her brain is now slipping down her spine due to a condition known as Chiari malformation - whereby the lower part of her brain has herniated and is pushing down through the top of her spinal column.

Emily's dreams of working in film have been shattered given she isn't well enough to complete her degree or hold down a job.

"I'm not able to participate in life, I'm unable to work and I keep having to delay the completion of my degree," Emily said.

" Ihave limited vision, I can't see out of my left eye and I have recently dealt with limb paralysis."

Emily says her brainstem has been damaged to the point where her body is not functioning, and she suffers daily from extreme fatigue, periods of paralysis and loss of vision.

As a result, Emily now finds herself largely bed-bound and is regularly in and out of hospital.

She suffers from excruciating symptoms which threaten irreversible physical disability and potentially death.

Earlier this year, Emily was rushed to hospital after her left arm became paralysed and swollen.

She said: "It looked like a dead person's arm, I feared I'd never regain mobility of it.

"It turned out I was struggling with blood flow to the arm, and I've regained limited use of my arm, but I'm high risk of it happening again.

"I've seen people with these conditions lose function of their arms completely and that obviously concerns me because I live by myself.


https://www mirror co uk/news/real-life-stories/student-living-hell-rare-condition-29930506?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

Chai things are happening. Nlfpmod mynd44 this is another frontpage worthy news.

I will still Bleep her to be honest with you.

Nlfpmod frontpage

Afonjanistan:
I will still Bleep her to be honest with you.

You're sick.

This skiing has destroyed the lives of many people

What's the point of living?

Cases like this would make some people appreciate dying.

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