A Co Down student has opened up about his recent diagnosis of a debilitating condition in a bid to raise more awareness.
Andrew Hamilton, 18, from Bangor, was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) last month after experiencing limb issues and some bowel trouble, which led to him spending eight weeks in the Ulster Hospital.
FND is a disease of the nervous system which causes issues with how the brain and body sends and receives signals. The neurological condition currently impacts up to 100,000 adults and up to 20,000 young adults under the age of 16 in the UK.
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Andrew, a disability rights campaigner, also has left hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. He was born with a visual impairment and went blind two years ago.
The Year 14 student at Strangford Integrated College is currently North Down’s UK Youth Parliament representative and plans to study politics at university with an eye to a career in the profession.
FND is characterised by a problem with the functioning of the nervous system and patients live with life-changing symptoms, similar to Parkinson’s Disease and long-term disability comparable to that with MS.
Historically it has been a marginalised illness, often falling through the gap of the divide between neurology and psychiatry.
Andrew's FND diagnosis came as a huge shock and led to him having to learn to walk again independently. A week on from his discharge from hospital, he is still on the path to recovery.
Andrew now wants to raise more awareness of the condition and is determined that his disability won’t stand in the way of his future plans for a career in politics or policy.
He told Belfast Live: "There is a real lack of knowledge about FND so I want to raise awareness after my recent diagnosis. I am thankful for the quick diagnosis and grateful for all the staff who have cared and helped me.
"However I’ve since learnt that there is no standardised treatment in the NHS for FND, which leads to people suffering for years with it and an average diagnosis time of two years.
"The way I would describe it is, it's not a hardware issue with the brain like conditions such as MS, it's the software side of it in terms of the signals from the brain getting muddled up or misinterpreted.
"It actually has a really good prognosis and it's all about retraining the brain back to a normal state so it's a very misunderstood disorder."
"I went into hospital in mid-December after having issues with my limbs and bladder and bowel trouble so I couldn't eat or and drink for a while. I had a lot of movement problems and wasn't able to walk so I had to rely on a wheelchair," he explained.
"I thought this was all being caused by the left-side hemiplegia but I gradually went downhill. I got the FND diagnosis in early January and then had to start the treatment and recovery process including learning to walk unaided again.
"It's just a matter of trying to work through my symptoms and regain a normal life. FND is really individualised and recovery can take from weeks to months or years depending on the symptoms so everyone's experience is different.
"I have a lot of experience with disability campaigning already and this isn't going to hold me back. I want to use my lived experience to bring more disability issues into places like the Youth Parliament."
Andrew spent Christmas and New Year in hospital and saw first hand the pressures on Northern Ireland's health service especially in A&E but also on the wards.
"The pressures on staff is enormous, especially with the amount of patients coming to hospital coupled with low staffing levels and an underfunded and neglected health service," he said.
"We need a functioning Assembly and Executive now which will serve the people of Northern Ireland and protect our valuable health service."
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