U.K. Woman Believes Money Worries Triggered the Little-Known Neurological Condition That Left Her Immobile

Danni Cooper, 21, was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND) after losing the ability to walk or talk

After encountering what doctors initially believed to be a migraine, a woman in England woke up unable to walk or talk — and she believes financial stress is to blame.

Danni Cooper, a former caregiver from Wakefield, came home from work in April and felt “shaky and dizzy,” but chalked the feelings up to hunger, The Wakefield Express reported. Shortly after — the 21-year-old, who had no known health conditions or concerns — found herself struggling to walk, and called her older sister for help.

The siblings headed straight to the emergency room, where doctors told Cooper she was experiencing a particularly strong headache, according to Yahoo! UK and The Northampton Chronicle & Echo.

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“My sister was having to prop me up because I couldn’t walk,” Cooper recalled to The Wakefield Express. “They said my period was making the migraine worse, and I was sent home with strong ibuprofen.”

But when she woke up the following morning, she found herself unable to walk or talk.

Fearing that she had suffered a stroke, Cooper’s boyfriend called an ambulance and the pair headed to the emergency room, where she waited all day to see a stroke nurse, the outlets reported. Cooper was then admitted overnight for testing — and all of her scans came back clear.

After a month-long stay in the hospital, doctors finally diagnosed her with a rare condition: functional neurological disorder (FND).

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According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), FND is “caused by changes in how brain networks work, rather than changes in the structure of the brain itself,” and causes “symptoms that significantly interfere with how a person functions and copes with daily life.”

As Cooper phrased it: “FND is like when a computer has too many tabs open, and it crashes.”

"My brain basically shut down and stopped communicating with my body," she said, per The Northampton Chronicle & Echo. "My life changed overnight."

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Symptoms of FND, which vary greatly, can include seizure-like episodes, dizziness, speech difficulties, vision problems, extreme fatigue, chronic migraines, numbness and problems with both mobility and cognitive function, per NINDS.

And while there are ample potential symptoms of FND, its exact cause is still unknown. In Cooper’s case, “Doctors think it was most likely triggered by stress,” she said, per The Wakefield Express.

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More specifically, she believes that the condition was triggered by her intense anxieties about money.

“I had been worrying for a long time about money,” Cooper said, per The Northampton Chronicle & Echo. “I was having to choose between food or petrol in order to get to work — the cost of living crisis hit me hard.”

"I fell into a deep depression at one point, crying every day and it most likely triggered the condition,” she added.

Since her diagnosis, Cooper has regained her ability to speak and walk, but still requires a walking stick and wheelchair to move, especially for long distances. “I have times when I’m better, but it can flare-up and will always be there,” she said of the condition, per The Wakefield Express.

There is still much to learn about FND — both by the general public and experts in the medical field — and Cooper hopes that sharing her story will help kickstart things.

“A lot of doctors still don’t know what FND is,” she said. "It’s a lesser-known condition but I hope I can raise awareness."

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