A Rotherham woman is set to compete in the London marathon 6 years after she was paralysed from the neck down due to a rare condition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stevie O\u2019Brian, 39, lived a healthy life and was signed up to run the both London Marathon and the Manchester Marathon in 2020 before they were cancelled due to Covid 19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In April 2020 she started to get pins and needled in her feet and hands, lost temperature sensation down one side of her body and eventually lost bladder control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a surgery in her neck, her symptoms began to worsen and within 2 weeks she was completely paralysed below the neck and had lost sight in her right eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mrs O\u2019Brian said \u201cThey didn\u2019t know if I would walk again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMO), which is a condition where the immune system attacks the body’s nerves.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, there are only 1,000 people in England that have been diagnosed with NMO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mrs O\u2019Brian has since made a remarkable recovery and six months after being admitted to hospital she took her first steps.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said \u201cThe doctors said they were really quite shocked and he said that my recovery was really quite unusual with how severely the attack came on.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome people with NMO might get pain behind the eye and might get pins and needles but they don’t always end up with full paralysis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As she was adapting to life with a spinal cord injury Stevie deferred her place in the London Marathon for as long as she could but was forced to give it up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t feel ready for it, so I ended up not doing it. It was devastating because I used to love running.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, Stevie feels ready to take on the marathon and had partnered with the Spinal Injuries Association. <\/p>\n\n\n