Telling me you don’t know is ok

When I arrived at the emergency department my movements were uncoordinated, I had difficulty balancing, and my speech was slurred. Over the past week typing had become increasingly difficult and I was suddenly unable to walk without stumbling. Initially I had attributed these symptoms to fatigue, but once my speech began to slur I started to fear the worst. After many tests and examinations, health professionals couldn’t find a physical cause for my symptoms. I was given a diagnosis of functional neurological disorder and told that it was probably caused by stress and would resolve with enough rest.

The diagnosis filled me with confusion …