West Midlands mum who put migraines down to being 'too busy' left unable to walk or talk

A West Midlands woman who put down her migraines to being a busy working mum was left unable to walk and talk after being diagnosed with a common brain condition.

Sarah Lewis, 46, began suffering from severe headaches, problems swallowing and heart palpitations but was told by doctors she was probably suffering from anxiety or stress. The mum-of-two also attributed her symptoms to working too hard in her high-pressure job as an assistant management accountant alongside sitting accountancy exams and juggling family life.

The migraines became more constant, and the day after her son's 8th birthday she found she couldn't walk in a straight line "like being drunk" as well as problems with her speech. She was rushed to Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital with a suspected stroke or brain tumour where she spent a week undergoing tests - and was told yet again she was fine and "probably overdoing it" at work.

A few months later, she was finally diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition in which the brain's 'software' malfunctions, disrupting signals between the brain and body.

Sarah now uses a wheelchair as she can't walk unaided and her mum cares for her at her home in Solihull. Yet despite her setbacks, she has managed to turn her life around and embark on building a new career running a successful cake business alongside her 11-year-old son Henry.

Sarah, who is also mum to Lily, 17, said: "It was a case of my body intervening and saying 'right I think you need to stop now' when I just thought I was tired and overworked. I put myself under so much pressure, feeling like I had got to do everything and I was just taking on too much.

"The first issues I started with were problems swallowing, food wouldn't go down the right way and I'd end up coughing and spluttering. Then I just started feeling really tired, I was going to lectures and about to sit accountancy exams while working full-time. So I just put it all down to working too hard and trying to do too much. I'm one of those people who just pushes on and just keeps going but I wasn't listening to my body.

"Then palpitations started and as I'd lost my dad quite young to heart disease I was given a cardiac monitor to see if anything was wrong there - but it came back fine and the hospital said it's probably just a bit of anxiety or stress.

"The migraines started happening on an almost daily basis - instead of coming home and having dinner I'd just want to go to bed and lie down in a dark room. It was a very busy and stressful time at work but it became impossible to ignore the symptoms any longer. I was just thinking I'll do something after the next deadline and kept pushing myself at work but it came to the point where my vision and speech started to go too.

"It was the day after my son's 8th birthday where it looked as if I was drunk, I could barely walk properly. It was like I was walking in a Fun House. I went back to my GP, I was starting to suffer from tremors too and they did a CT scan, blood tests and lumbar punctures - they thought it might be a brain tumour or a stroke. Yet they still told me everything was OK after getting the test results back and said I was just probably overdoing it."

After being referred to a neurology department, Sarah was diagnosed with FND in September 2023. The condition results in involuntary physical symptoms, such as loss of motor control, speech, sensory and cognitive problems.

She said: "But they could still not tell me if I would ever get better or how long this might last - and that is still the case today. It's like a computer where my hardware is all fine but the software isn't.

“It happens a lot with people with ADHD, where people work to burnout, I basically worked until I broke. I was never assessed for ADHD but I think most women my age have it to an extent anyway.

"I was never going to be able to work full-time after that. The doctor said to my husband 'don't treat her as if she's disabled'. But all of a sudden I was in a wheelchair and I can't really do anything on my own.

"The prognosis is very much it might get better or it might get worse - they still don't know. It has been really awful, there's no sugar coating it, but I was determined to have some quality of life."

Sarah went on to launch her business Cakey Blinders, which has since become a family effort.

She said: "Baking was something I had a passion for so I began making the cakes and it is now a full family affair with everybody helping out - it became a therapy for me. My mum lives with us and she helps me get the cakes in and out the oven as I still struggle with tremors and memory problems. My husband helps with the logistics and deliveries, Henry helps with everything and Lily helps come up with ideas too. In a way it has brought us closer together.

"Now I finally feel like I have a purpose and a passion and my family come first before a job or money, which wasn't always the case. I think I have a better relationship with them now than I did before, so I'm trying to take away the positives. Sometimes, the most hardest lessons in life can be the most important ones."