{"id":539361,"date":"2025-10-31T07:37:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/539361\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T07:37:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:37:15","slug":"devon-teen-dealt-crushing-blow-after-doctors-said-she-was-faking-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/539361\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon teen dealt crushing blow after doctors said she was ‘faking’ disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlie from Tiverton was accused of faking symptoms by NHS staff only to be diagnosed with a severe neurological disorder that nearly cost her lifeCharlie Morgan began experiencing unexplained seizures, paralysis and severe memory loss as a teenager<\/p>\n

An 18-year-old was left unable to speak, walk or even recognise her own family after doctors repeatedly told her she was faking her symptoms\u2014only to later be diagnosed with a serious neurological disorder.<\/p>\n

Charlie Morgan, from Tiverton<\/a>, began experiencing unexplained seizures, paralysis and severe memory loss as a teenager. But despite suffering from frightening episodes that left her unable to swallow or urinate, hospital staff dismissed her as \u201cattention seeking\u201d and accused her of putting it on \u201cout of choice\u201d.<\/p>\n

Now diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), Charlie is speaking out in a bid to raise awareness of the condition\u2014and highlight the ongoing lack of recognition in the NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charlie Morgan began experiencing unexplained seizures, paralysis and severe memory loss as a teenager<\/p>\n

Charlie said: \u201cI\u2019ve had A&E staff Google FND in front of me, I\u2019ve had a nurse tell me my seizure was fake because it\u2019s not epilepsy, and I\u2019ve been discharged paralysed because my MRI was clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

FND affects the brain\u2019s ability to send and receive signals and is the second most common reason for referral to neurology clinics. But Charlie says many professionals still wrongly dismiss it as \u201cpurely psychological\u201d.<\/p>\n

At just 17 years old, after years of distress and disbelief, Charlie was finally given a diagnosis\u2014but no further help. \u201cI wasn\u2019t given a place to go next either. I was just told to get on with it,\u201d she said. \u201cNo help, information, nothing. I left the hospital more confused than how I went in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie Morgan began experiencing unexplained seizures, paralysis and severe memory loss as a teenager<\/p>\n

The condition left her unable to eat or speak and suffering symptoms including tics, tremors, hearing and vision loss, memory blackouts and hours-long seizures. On one occasion, she could not even remember her own name, birthday or home address.<\/p>\n

\u201cI became extremely confused and my family thought I\u2019d had a stroke,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI couldn\u2019t talk, move or understand anything. I was scared of my own dog. I was told to \u2018grow up\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie\u2019s symptoms worsened after one terrifying episode in a car where she experienced intense back pain and became unable to move. Hospital scans later found nothing physically wrong, and she was again sent home.<\/p>\n

Despite being unable to urinate and needing a catheter, Charlie said she was told doctors did not want to \u201cmedicalise\u201d her condition. Her bladder had to be urgently drained after becoming dangerously full.<\/p>\n

Even while seizing in hospital waiting rooms, staff reportedly said to \u201clet her seize\u2014she\u2019ll stop when she\u2019s bored\u201d. She was later rushed to resus with dangerously low oxygen levels.<\/p>\n

Charlie Morgan began experiencing unexplained seizures, paralysis and severe memory loss as a teenager<\/p>\n

Charlie now shares her experience with healthcare students and professionals to improve understanding of FND. She continues to campaign for better treatment for patients with the condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more people with this than you realise,\u201d she said. \u201cFND symptoms are not fake or put on\u2014they\u2019re very much involuntary.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is urging the public to support an online petition calling for improved care and recognition of the condition. \u201cPlease sign and share this petition to help people like me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The petition can be found at: https:\/\/petition.parliament.uk\/petitions\/727063<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlie added: \u201cIf you are a healthcare professional, please research FND and treat all patients how you would want you, your child or your mum to be treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NHS was approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Charlie from Tiverton was accused of faking symptoms by NHS staff only to be diagnosed with a severe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4316],"tags":[867,105,4348,211,285,70953,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-539361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-google","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-nhs","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-tiverton","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115467638994677082","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}