On the 21st of February Jared Lee my nephew was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disease.

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) refers to a disorder that breaks down the communication between the brain and the body. It is a collection of symptoms such as blackouts, weakness and abnormal movements that suggest an underlying neurological condition, but none of the symptoms are explained by a structural disease. FND is caused by a complex combination of biological, psychological and social factors on the brain.

Some of the factors contributing to making the brain vulnerable to triggering FND episodes include:

1. Injury and pain

2. Anxiety, depression and traumatic life experiences

Imagine the brain as a computer which contains hardware and software. The software controls how the hardware functions and interacts with the environment. FND is like a glitch in the software of the brain, this can cause the hardware to function abnormally and react differently to the environment. Treatment involves recognizing these glitches and learning how to troubleshoot them.

An estimated 4-12 people per 100,000 will develop FND

In Jared’s case one day he woke up and was unable to walk and is currently undergoing treatment to learn how to walk again which involves several forms of treatment and which can be quite slow as each case is different.

Jared has a long road ahead of him to recovery which will be quite costly so we please ask that you donate what you can.

Thanks, in advanced