What is FND?

FND or Functional Neurological Disorder is, in a word: *raspberry noises*. In more science-y words, it's a neurological disorder that changes the way your brain sends signals to the body. This can cause symptoms like sudden weakness and paralysis, vision changes, chronic pain, fatigue, and functional seizures just to name a few. Fun fact: the nervous system does a lot, so when it isn't functioning properly, it can lead to a lot of problems.

There is no cure for this disorder and management is often an educated guessing game. Not for a lack of effort, though. Brilliant minds and dedicated hearts are working to understand this complex condition better, but the disorder is still very under researched.

How can you help?

Supporting someone with this disorder can be as easy as just offering your presence and learning more about the ways FND affects daily life can go a long way. (Shout out to all of the beautiful people who stand by me every day. I couldn't do this without all of you by my side.)

If you're able, you can also help by donating to this fundraiser for my new service dog.

What will they be trained to do?

Most importantly, this pup will be helping to alert me and others to an oncoming seizure and keep me safe during an attack. Even non-epileptic seizures come with safety concerns such as fall risks, self harming movements due to muscle contractions, and potentially head injuries. Independence is often compromised with this disorder, and finding strategies to maximize it goes a long way for us.

If you've gotten to this point, allow me to take a moment to thank you for taking the time to learn more about the struggles that come with FND. To my fellow FND warriors, know that you aren't alone in this fight.

Love always,

Tempo