Hello!

It’s Dan here; maybe you know me, perhaps you don’t; either way, I’m grateful that you took the time out of your day to be here and read my story.

It’s hard to know where to begin, and to be honest; it’s painful to revisit much of what I’m about to share. However, I feel it’s important to share this story for two reasons. One is selfish, and the other is not so selfish.

Firstly, I hope by reading this, you’ll get a sense of who I am, what I’m about, and why I’m reaching out to you in the hope of financial support so that I can heal my body, live more fully, and be independent again.

Secondly, I know this story is not unique to me; there’s too much suffering with chronic, complex illnesses that can be treated effectively but require many interventions that our current health system cannot offer. If this is you, I hope you don’t feel as alone anymore, and maybe you will also find the courage to ask for assistance.

Listen to My Music Here

Five years ago, I was living a life many would be jealous of. I was working as a professional musician in Ibiza, spending my days playing music for weddings, ceremonies, concerts and wellness retreats. When I wasn’t ‘working’, time was gliding by nicely, honing my craft, socialising, dancing, spending hours at the beach, and working around the island's restaurants.

In 2017 I brought Sofar Sounds to the island, a worldwide music events company. I felt the island was missing a place where musicians could be truly heard. So, with encouragement from a dear friend, I made the call and started it. Me and Jelena (aka Jelena’s Song) created many events together that brought a touch of magic to the island. I was super proud of this achievement, they continue to this day, and I’m sad not to be a part of it.

I share this because at the final event I was part of, I slipped up and hurt my back, aggravating an old injury. At the time, it wasn't very pleasant, but I could get by. I soldiered on and performed at Meadows in the Mountains Festival in Bulgaria a month later. However, this made things much worse.

I decided to move home for the summer as I was unable to take good care of myself, but other symptoms started to develop. Chronic pain, dizziness, muscle weakness/wasting, sickness, digestive issues, brain fog, chronic fatigue, anxiety, twitches, full-body tremors, and other neurological symptoms.

I moved down to London to get access to therapists who I thought could help me, but after many tried and failed to help, I felt I had no choice but to go down the scary medical path. After speaking to all the scary-ologists, rheumatologists, neurologists, cardiologists etc three years later, I was told I had FND - Functional Neurological Disorder.

You may not have heard of FND, it can be mild, but it can be just as disabling as MS or Parkinson's disease as it shares many of the same symptoms; however, there’s no apparent physical cause making treatment challenging.

Me after a night in the hospital - it turned out I didn't have a heart attack, but the experience was enough to almost give me one!

I’ve spent every last penny I had saved on trying to heal through acupuncture, physio, osteopaths, functional medicine, naturopaths, healers, various therapists, supplements etc, on top of all the usual living expenses. I was entitled to some benefits, but these didn’t even cover my basic living expenses.

The symptoms were so bad during the summer of 2019 (before I had my diagnosis) that A and E became a ‘home’ from home. Because I was so worried something was majorly wrong with me, I felt I had to keep getting checked out, yet none of the tests showed anything - I thought I was going crazy.

In late 2019 I was offered what felt like a lifeline - a scholarship with the fabulous coaching school - Mindful Talent. This was a huge shift for me as it allowed me to bring everything I’d been learning about personal development into a framework that will enable me to help others.

I’m still incredibly passionate about this work, and I will continue down this path. However, right now, It’s hard to apply myself 100% due to the energy required to heal. When I’ve started to give my coaching practice lots of energy, my health suffered, so I need to be careful with how much I take on. This is why this campaign is so crucial to me. Not only is it about me healing for me. But it’s also important to get well so that I can go deeper into my coaching journey so that I can help and serve others.

At this point, however, I was spending 90% of my days inside on my own; this heightened the anxiety and therefore amplified all of my symptoms.

Once I got the diagnosis, I was told I needed to see a psychiatrist, but my GP disagreed, so I continued. Noone suggested neuro physio, specialist FND clinics or any other treatments. Had I been given this information then, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in today. This hurts but at the same time; I’ve developed a trust in the journey, a trust in something larger playing out.

At this point, we’re early 2021; I’ve spent 10’s of thousands on private healthcare, rent, bills, and food. I had no choice but to move home for additional support.

Long story made slightly shorter. I now depend on carers coming twice a day. I can't change on my own, wash effectively, cook, or clean. I’m entirely dependent on my carers and my family. I need crutches to walk and can’t leave the house alone. I continue to spend 90% of my time inside. I’m still not able to play my guitar.

Watch this video to see my progress in the last few months...

Early this year, I was at rock bottom - I’d invested my last bit of money in a neuro physio who made things much worse - hello crutches! However, something changed, deep inside I felt that life was pushing me to try something new.

I spent days researching and finally came across a treadmill that partially supports your weight so that you can take a load off the joints, which would help my nervous system feel safe so that I could begin to retrain my brain and start walking again. This has given me hope. Hope that I can fully heal, become fully independent and get back to doing what I love.

For the past few months, I’ve found a physio centre an hour from me that has this treadmill, and it’s been going great, there have been some positive gains made, but in order to get to that next level, I feel I need to be doing it daily and a 3.5 hour round trip is just not viable for me financially or energetically.

In-patient neuro rehab centers range from 7-15k per week! I know, crazy right?! However, I’ve found a specialist neuro-physio centre in Hull that I can attend daily. If I arrange the transport, accommodation, care and food etc myself, I can cut the costs dramatically. I’m estimating this will cost around £7,500 for 4-6 weeks (the same price for the cheapest in-patient neuro rehab centre) and if by some miracle I raise more money, I’ll go again in the new year!

Here’s a rough breakdown of how the funds will be spent:

Accommodation - £1500

Food & Supplements - £600

Therapy - £600

Physiotherapy - £4000

Transport - £800

I believe this is the next step I must take to regain my confidence in movement and truly heal. I dream of being in a place where I can live a full, independent life again.

I’ve spent the last four years inside and have learned so much about myself; I feel I have 2 PHD’s, one in chronic illness and one on my own mind! As much as I value all the lessons learned, I’m ready to re-engage with the world, share my gifts and support others that have found themselves in similar situations.

If you’re able to support me on this journey, my promise to you is that I fully commit to this rehab retreat like an athlete would commit to preparing for the Olympics. I truly believe in healing these conditions, this type of commitment is required.

My other promise is to post on social media daily to give inspiration and hope to anyone else going through anything similar. Finally, once I have more energy, I intend to make it part of my life's work to raise awareness of FND, ME and other Chronic Illnesses that are rarely treated well in the NHS.

So, if you’re still reading, I’m grateful for your attention. If you can contribute, that’s amazing, but if not, no worries.

If you feel called to share my page with your community or anyone you think would be able to help, I will be eternally grateful.

Warmly,

Dan

P.S. Thanks again for reading my story; it means more than you know.

Listen to My Music