Megan was in Bristol when she lost the ability to speak, move, and lost her vision
Megan Dixon, 21(Image: Tom Maddick)
A young woman is facing the prospect of having both her legs surgically amputated after they became fixed at a 45-degree angle upwards.
Megan Dixon, 21, has suffered agonising, constant pain for the past eight years since her legs locked completely straight.
Megan, who also lives with functional neurological disorder (FND), has left medical professionals puzzled as they’ve been unable to determine what’s causing her condition.
However, she maintains it has taken doctors so long to intervene that her only remaining choice is to have both limbs removed, as she struggles with basic, everyday activities.
Megan, from Cambridgeshire, is raising money for an electric wheelchair to regain her independence following the amputation – having been unable to walk since she was 14.
She said: “It was the hardest when I met with the amputee clinic and they said amputation was my best and only option. I was hoping deep down they would say there was another way.
“But this is my reality now and I haven’t fully come to terms with it yet.” Megan first became unwell when she was 13 years old, fighting whooping cough and glandular fever, reports the Daily Star.
A year later, she noticed her legs had begun to stop working and she hasn’t walked since. Megan, who was initially diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) underwent physiotherapy but her legs had become locked straight.
Megan Dixon, 21, has been left with unbearable, constant pain for the past eight years when her legs fixed completely straight(Image: Megan Dixon / SWNS)
She said: “From there I got worse and worse. I started to go into a comatose-like state. When I was 16, I stopped being able to sit up by myself and I started to lose the ability to speak.
“My paediatrician was concerned I’d had a stroke so I was rushed to hospital. I was supposed to be in for tests over four days – I came out a year and a half later.”
At Bristol Hospital, Megan lost her ability to speak, move, her physical strength and her vision. She received a diagnosis of FND, a condition where the brain has difficulty transmitting and receiving signals properly. Paralysed from the neck downwards, she needed an NG tube inserted through her nose for nutrition.
Megan said: “I could feel my bones in my legs grating together but I kept being told the pain was in my head and it wasn’t real. I was silently screaming for 24-hours a day. When I went into a coma-like state, I had no idea what was going on.
“No one could wake me up. My legs were completely locked straight and even under anaesthetic, they couldn’t bend my knees. My left leg had started to bend the wrong way by ten degrees.”
She was discharged from the children’s hospital upon turning 18 and maintained she was abandoned in the community for a year “with no help whatsoever”.
Megan Dixon, 21, has been left with unbearable, constant pain for the past eight years when her legs fixed completely straight(Image: Tom Maddick)
Medical professionals remained baffled as to why Megan’s legs had become locked and started to curve.
She added: “I had essentially been left to rot and die in bed. My family complained about my care and I was sent to a private nursing home specialising in neurological disorders.
“I was completely paralysed from the neck down and I had to work on getting all of my functions back. But equally my legs got worse and worse. I’d seen six different surgeons and was turned away by five. When I finally found a surgeon to help me, it had been so long that the damage in m
The damage to my knees was irreversible. “My left knee is bent at a 45 degree angle and my right is close behind. My only option left is amputation.”
Alongside managing seizures and persistent pain, Megan disclosed that even routine activities have become incredibly difficult because of her legs.
She explained: “I can’t walk on my own so I have to bum shuffle everywhere or use my wheelchair. Getting from the floor to the bed is absolute agony for me because of the weight and pressure through my knees.”
“I have to be carried to the bed or the toilet and simple tasks take me so much longer.”
Megan Dixon, 21(Image: Tom Maddick)
Megan is due to undergo leg amputation in August and is currently raising funds for an electric wheelchair and additional medical equipment to help restore her independence.
She added: “Despite not being able to walk since I was 14, I’ve only really been in a wheelchair since I was 19 because I spent so long bedbound or in a coma.”
In addition to dealing with seizures and chronic pain, Megan revealed that even everyday tasks have become extraordinarily challenging due to her legs.
She explained: “I want to be able to go out with my partner, visiting the zoo, and have him by my side holding hands – as opposed to being on a day out with my carer. This is my last resort and my only option.”
Megan’s message of hope: “If something doesn’t feel right in your body, please listen to it and trust yourself. For six years I was dismissed, and as a result the only surgery now available to me is, regrettably, amputation.”
“If you are facing amputation, I want to be honest with you-there are no words that can truly make it easier. It is a devastating and life-changing experience, and something I would never wish on anyone.”
“It was the hardest when I met with the amputee clinic and they said amputation was my best and only option.”
“All you can do is take it one day at a time. There will be days when it feels overwhelming, and that’s okay. Allow yourself to feel everything that comes with this journey. Struggling doesn’t mean you are weak-it means you are human.”
“But even in the darkest moments, try to hold on to the smallest positives. Sometimes hope comes in the smallest forms: a kind word, a moment of strength, or simply getting through another day.”
“Keep fighting for the life that comes after. None of us should have to face something like this, but if it leads to a future where life is a little more bearable, a little less painful, and holds more independence. Then all of this will be worth it.”