A young mum who thought she had a trapped nerve was stunned when doctors revealed it was a life-changing condition leaving her only able to use one leg.
Shannon Turnbull, 25, noticed bizarre symptoms such as a tingling sensation and changes to her vision at the start of the year.
But when the left side of her body went numb and she was rushed to A&E, she was shocked to learn that she had the degenerative condition, Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The mum of two had initially thought she was suffering from a trapped nerve, but after 72 hours in hospital was without almost all function in her left leg.
Speaking to EdinburghLive : "Around three and a bit weeks now I started to develop what I could only describe as sensitivity on my skin on my back on the lower left side.
"To touch it hurt, to even have my clothes on it would hurt, even the temperature affected this. I thought maybe I’d pulled a muscle, I’m sure it’ll sort itself out.
"As the days went on it got worse, it was rapidly spreading to my tummy.
"I still didn’t think much of it and was waiting for it to just disappear.
"I started to develop extreme numbness on the affected areas and as more days went by it was spreading down my leg.
"By Monday just gone, my lower left back, tummy and thigh were completely numb. I felt as if I’d had an epidural!"
Sharon, who is a mum to her sons, Tommy and Louis, is now learning to walk again with the function of just one leg.
She said: "I visited my doctor and got some blood tests and referred to a neurologist for an appointment in a couple of weeks. She said to contact them if symptoms got any worse.
"Tuesday morning I woke up and my leg was extremely weak, the numbness had covered my full leg and I wasn’t able to walk as well.
"The doctor sent me straight up to A&E, where I underwent multiple MRI and brain scans. After spending 72 hours staying in hospital and almost complete loss of my left leg function I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
"MS is a lifelong condition that affects the brain and nervous system. It is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking your brain and nerves. Multiple Sclerosis cannot be cured.
"The moment I was made aware of my diagnosis I knew instantly my life would be changed forever."
Within days of her shock diagnosis, Shannon explained her life has already changed dramatically.
The family has overhauled their routine and are even having to move to a new home specially adapted to her needs.
As well as the physical aspects of the condition, Shannon must now mentally come to terms with her diagnosis, for which there is no cure.
She said: "Last Saturday I was running around in the soft play with my boys and this Saturday I can't even walk. Why is life so unfair?"
"The hardest thing to deal with has definitely been the loss of my left leg function.
"I've been walking since I was one and at the age of 25 I'm now having to reteach my leg how to walk again, which is very frustrating and tiring."
The brave mum is now sharing her story on social media to raise awareness of MS.
She said: "I was honestly so nervous to share my story but I genuinely came to A&E thinking I had a pinched nerve.
"Scotland holds the highest MS rates, I can't understand why there is such little awareness around this condition."
According to the MS Society, there are more than 130,000 people with MS in the UK.
This makes the condition more common in the UK than in most other countries in the world.
You can follow Shannon's story here and find out more information about the condition here.
