Hope Against the Odds: Liam’s Story of Recovery and Resilience

By Ellise Hollie-Hayward, Disabilities Correspondent

Liam Virgo has Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) which affects how the brain sends and receives information to and from the body which can cause paralysis, seizures, sensory changes, difficulty with speech, swallowing and cognitive issues. 

Before Liam was diagnosed with FND at the age of 13 after spending months in hospital, he was happy and healthy.

At the time when he was diagnosed with FND, Liam was very poorly and didn't know what was happening around him.

His mind was just blank. FND left him suddenly paralyzed and unable to talk. He lost his ability to walk and talk within days, it completely shut his body down.

Liam felt trapped inside his own body, describing it as "being awake in a body that had stopped working".

Liam was bedridden for years and needed 24 hour care.

FND has had a life changing impact on Liam’s life. It took all of his abilities away from him and at the age of 13, he lost his voice, freedom and mobility to FND.

But slowly with support, motivation and hope his life began to change.

It’s been a long hard battle, painful and very isolating relearning how to do things his body used to take for granted.

Nine years on, Liam is now slowly recovering and learning to walk again. Now that he is able to talk again, he wants to use his voice to raise awareness about FND.

Over the years with determination, Liam made gradual progress in regaining his mobility and speech.

He can still have difficult days to this day with his FND and doctors aren’t sure if he will ever fully recover but Liam knows now that he can learn to live with his FND. 

Liam wants people to know that FND is a really debilitating condition and just because it doesn’t show up on a scan doesn’t mean it’s not real.

Even though he has been very poorly, he has always remained positive and never given up hope on achieving his wishes.

FND is a very real condition which needs more awareness as there’s been times his symptoms haven’t always been understood due to lack of understanding.

Despite Liam’s FND, he has been determined to achieve his dreams such as visiting London and meeting the cast of the ITV show Loose Women.

Liam’s message to anyone who is struggling with their FND or any other illness is to never give up hope for the future.

His FND took his voice and body away from him but he is now more determined than ever to not to let his FND hold him back from doing anything’.

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