A WOMAN was left paralysed from the waist down after a surgery to realign her jaw left her with a severe functional neurological disorder.
Chelsea Flynn was “devastated” when she awoke from the procedure to learn that she had become paralysed with dystonia – a medical condition that can result in muscle spasms and painful contractions.
The 19-year-old was forced to undergo a number of jaw surgeries after being hit by bullies in school and attacked by thugs whilst walking her dog and being struck accidentally by a friend.
She underwent the surgical knife for the seventh time at Kent and Canterbury Hospital in May last year where she had anesthesia to have screws removed from her jaw.
Upon awakening from the procedure Chelsea, from Kent, had multiple seizures and later realised she couldn’t move or feel her legs.
It was then that doctors broke the news that the teenager’s brain had a “neurological breakdown” when rejecting the anesthesia and that it had left her with a severe functional neurological disorder (FND).
Chelsea now required a wheelchair and has had to adapt her everyday life around her disability.
However, despite the disastrous surgical consequences, Chelsea was unable to file a complaint as she had signed a form that negated NHS liability for surgical risks.
However, this hasn’t deterred her spirits with Chelsea now making light of her story by creating humorous educational videos online to help raise awareness of FND.
Chelsea shared an account of her story to TikTok earlier this month, writing : “On 12th of May 2021 I went in for jaw surgery to have screws removed.
“After jaw surgery I didn’t come around for many hours and had lots of seizures and I then woke up paralysed.”
The video has now collected over 47,000 views with 900 likes and dozens of comments from users who shared kind messages with Chelsea.
One said: “Keep your head up beautiful. Wishing you all the best.”
another wrote: “This is so devastating.”
A third added: “I admire your humor but I am so sorry.”
A fourth replied: “I’m so sorry oh my god.”
Speaking today (MON), she said: “On 21st May 2021, I had my seventh surgery. I had the screws taken off as normal. This time, I had anesthesia as the last time I had surgery without it was very painful.
“When I woke up again, I felt weird. I had taken a long time to come out of the anesthesia. I had multiple seizures and was very delusional.
“I didn’t know what was going on. My jaw was healed but I couldn’t move. Once I came round, there were lots of people in the room.
“I tried to move but I couldn’t. It felt like there was nothing on the lower part of my body. I felt like I only had my arms and my chest and that was it. I felt completely nothing.
“I tried to move but couldn’t. I felt like I was hanging off of something or that something was on top of me. I was very confused.
“I told someone I couldn’t move, they were concerned and sent me to another ward for monitoring. They told me it could’ve been a post-op anesthetic issue but that everything should be fine.
“I stayed there for a few hours but nothing changed. A doctor then came to see me and said ‘We think you have something called Functional Neurological Disorder (FND).’
“I was so upset as I didn’t know what this was. I asked them what happened and one doctor said to me ‘We think you’re paralysed.’
“I was devastated.
“After that one day, I was transferred to another hospital, to their Special Neurology Ward.
“Since that day, I now struggle with daily tasks as a result of my FND My wrist is bent completely the other way and now my palm touches my forearm.
“I would also have many seizures and sometimes my paralysis would move up. It would go up and down my neck, and I lost my ability to swallow, making me really ill.
“I couldn’t eat and had to accept the NG [nasogastric tube].’ Everything was going downhill. My nutrition was low and I became really poorly.
” After the surgery, I had a carer who would come in, called Mia Abbott.
“I had to have everything specially prepared – I had to get a hospital bed, which isn’t nice because I want to sleep in my own bed. I now also need a commode to get to the bathroom, and have a sideboard that I still use to this day.”
“My parents were trying to say it’s the hospital’s fault but the hospital have explained that it’s not how the surgery was performed, but my brain having a neurological breakdown.
“It shut itself off and didn’t function properly anymore. It was just my body that didn’t like it and I had signed forms that agreed that any risks wouldn’t be the hospital’s fault.
“I always enjoyed doing TikToks for fun. There are still videos of me dancing and having fun with friends. Once I got sick, it was still the same and I only posted when I felt like it or if I had the energy.
“When I got back to it, I thought there’s probably people in the same position. And I wanted to show those people that they can be strong too.”
