Featured on @StorylineReddit: November 29, 2025
He went to pick her up because her arms felt off. An hour later she was crying in the parking lot, unable to move her fingers. By the time they reached the ER, she couldn’t feel her legs. The MRI looked clear. The doctors said they were “clueless.” The baby’s heartbeat was strong.
It begins there not with certainty, but with absence. Sensation gone. Explanations missing. A body refusing to cooperate while the machines insist everything appears intact.
What follows is not a single dramatic turn but a series of procedural ones. Tests. Consults. Words that almost fit. A diagnosis that settles too quickly. Then another scan. Another interpretation.
In between, he holds it together while she’s awake. When she sleeps, he walks downstairs and clings to a stranger longer than either of them probably expected.
The crisis moves forward in paperwork and waiting rooms as much as in muscle fibers.
The central strain is not only the sudden paralysis; it is the mismatch between visible symptoms and institutional response. Within hours, a pregnant woman loses movement in her limbs. Imaging shows little. Specialists rule out familiar explanations. A provisional diagnosis Functional Neurological Disorder frames the next steps, but access to rehabilitation stalls. Facilities decline admission. Insurance hesitates.
Momentum shifts through personal connections. A previously denied inpatient rehab facility approves her after outside advocacy. A new neurologist orders another MRI. The conclusion changes: spinal cord stroke. Treatment recalibrates. So does the emotional landscape.
From there, progress registers in increments rather than breakthroughs. Pinprick scores rise. Assisted standing becomes possible. Toes move. Small cubes are lifted and dropped in timed repetitions. Pregnancy continues in parallel, monitored and stable.
Certainty arrives late and without flourish. Improvement is measurable but incomplete. Some functions remain offline, and the timeline stretches forward without promising resolution.
Text Version
[New Update]: My wife may never walk again
NEW UPDATE
I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/TangentPrism
Originally posted to r/offmychest
Previous BoRUs: #1
[New Update]: My wife may never walk again
NEW UPDATE MARKED WITH —-
Editor’s note: made small edits for ease of readability
Trigger Warnings: medical scares, paralysis, possible malpractice, misdiagnosis
Mood Spoilers: horrifying, but ultimately prognosis is optimistic
RECAP
Original post: September 23, 2025
My pregnant wife works in the medical field. Got a call couple days ago that she hurt herself and her arms were hurting and starting to go numb. She said she talked to her Dr and was waiting for them to call back. I told her let me know if I needed to come get her or not.
An hour later she says they told her it is probably nothing but she wanted to go home. I go to pick her up and when I get there, she’s in tears, and can’t move her arms, and can’t feel/move her fingers. As we walk outside, I told her we’re going to ER. We get to ER and between work and ER, she can no longer feel her legs, and they are uncontrollably spasming every 3-5 seconds. They call a med alert (or something like that) crew and they lift her out of the car and onto a stretcher. We go inside and they check her out and do ultrasound and say baby is fine (strong heart beat).
Couple hours later they get her into an MRI and check out her spine (C and T). The results come back clear with no visible signs of damage. We’ve been here for 36 hours and they are clueless (neurologist’s exact word) as to what is going on. She can’t feel or move anything below her chest. She can move her arms up to her wrists but can’t move her fingers (no twitch, no squeeze, or anything else). The Dr is saying she doesn’t think it will be lasting but she can’t guarantee anything.
At this time, I’m terrified and beyond scared that she may not walk again or have any use of her extremities. I’m trying to stay calm and strong for her but when she sleeps I find myself, more often than not, in tears. I walked downstairs, and broke down talking to a stranger and he stopped me and gave me a hug and I couldn’t help but cling to him (probably longer than he would have liked). If you’re a praying person please send one our way.
UPDATES: We discussed GBS (editor’s note: Guillain-Barre syndrome) with the neurologist and Dr. both agreed to rule it out. Their reasoning was this was rapidly on-set not gradually. It also started in her hands/arms and later moved to her legs/feet. GBS generally starts over time and in the feet first and then works upwards.
I asked about Transverse Myelitis, they ruled it out also but don’t remember the reasoning.
They are performing a Lumbar MRI currently. The neurologist wanted to get a complete picture of everything to help rule things out. He also ordered a LP (editor’s note: Lumbar Puncture known as a spinal tap) to rule out things like meningitis.
Apologies for the short update, I only had a few mins to write this out. I’ll update again as I get more info.
Editor’s note: Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves and can cause weakness, numbness, or paralysis.
Relevant / Top Comments
Commenter 1: How did she hurt herself?
OOP: We don’t really know, she said she was with a patient and heard a pop in her back/shoulder, and immediately lost strength in her hands and it quickly deteriorated after that.
Commenter 2: are her thyroid hormones normal?
OOP: They tested that too and nothing stood out.
OOP responds to multiple comments about possible multiple sclerosis
OOP: Will definitely ask about that. Thank you.
Commenter 3: She may have also had a stroke. Check in the form of an MRI
OOP: Yeah, we’ve had a MRI done and there were no signs of a stroke or anything, so they ruled that out. I appreciate the thought though.
Commenter 4: Apparently pregnancy can cause paralysis in rare cases but treatable. Hopefully they find something in the labs. So sorry this is happening. Thoughts and prayers to you both.
Update #1: October 19, 2025 (nearly one month later)
My wife may never walk again: An UPDATE!
I posted several weeks ago about my pregnant wife having an accident or whatever you’d call it while at work.
Quick overview: She heard/felt a pop in her shoulders and lost feeling in her arms and hands. I picked her up from work and on the way to the hospital she lost feeling/ movement in her legs. Got to the hospital and they did all kinds of tests including MRI, ultrasound, EEG, EMG, echocardiogram, EKG, and so many others. They also confirmed baby was good.
UPDATE: They decided (wrongly, read more below) on FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER. They planned on physical therapy being the best course of action.
More to the story: They reached out to the in-Patient rehab facility (IPRF) near us, and they denied us going there. The also reached out to the several places within neighboring states and they all denied us as well. Our next option would be skilled nursing but our insurance didn’t cover that and it would have cost $2,000/week and minimum of 3 months at a time. They also told us my insurance was not covering the hospital stay either (Talk about a kick in the nuts).
Over the last 7-8 years I’ve made friends with a couple PTs here in town. I reached out to my neighbor and she works at a different type of facility but had friends that worked there. She said she’d reach out and find out more info. I also made friends with a guy that worked at another PT facility here in town. He was a groomsman in my wedding, and I was one in his also. I reached out to him to see if he knew anyone that worked at the local IPRF. He was on vacation and his wife (a PT at the “hospital”) was sitting next to him. She said she’d make some calls and let me know. (Skipping some details in the middle here because they don’t matter much) The next day we get a call saying she was approved for the IPRF we were denied at in the first place.
My wife and I were talking and my friend’s wife came up and neither one of us knew where she worked. My wife said to Google her, so I did and come to find out she worked at the IPRF. Not just worked there but was one of the top Drs there. She was the one that pulled the string to get us there. They also said my other friend reached out and thought it was interesting that two different people were trying to pull strings that were not related or associated at all.
We were finally transferred to the IPRF (after 11 days at the hospital), while there we spoke to a new neurologist who wanted to order another MRI. It came back a couple days later the dr came in and told us she did not have FND. They said she had a Spinal Cord Stroke.
My friend and his wife brought us dinner that night and she wanted to answer questions we may have and said she wanted to transfer us to a better more specialized facility.
We were finally transferred to the spinal rehab facility (after 13 days). She is finally being treated for the correct diagnosis and in the correct location. They expect her to be here for the next 2-3 months.
TL;DR: My pregnant wife hurt herself at work (not work related) and went to the hospital. She has no feelings from the chest down. They diagnosed her wrongly with FND then she was diagnosed spinal cord stroke. We are at a specialized facility now. We’re at 4 weeks with 2-3 months left.
Relevant / Top Comments
Commenter 1: And then she should be able to walk again?
Commenter 2: PT here – potentially. Spinal cord strokes/infarcts are really rare, and I can’t speak for OOPs wife’s prognosis obviously as I don’t know them and I’m not their PT. It can take months or years to regain function, but it is possible if she gets the care she needs and it was caught relatively early which is a good indicator for a better outcome.
OOP: Yeah, it’s different for each patient and each issue but we’re hopeful. She’s having spasms in her legs and they kick around a little. She can sense a touch but can’t “feel” anything yet. The drs are hopeful as well and have stated that if there was permanent loss, they wouldn’t be kicking of spasming like they are.
We were at therapy within 2 weeks so we’re hoping that was quick enough to get her back on her feet.
OOP on not knowing what a spinal cord stroke is prior to his wife’s diagnosis
OOP: We hadn’t either. Apparently less than 1% of all strokes are spinal cord related.
Commenter 3: While I am so glad to hear you guys found the right diagnosis and are getting the treatment needed, I’m so sorry you and especially your wife are going through this, and having been basically ignored for two weeks on your wife’s care. Kudos to the string pullers, they went above and beyond to make sure she is taken care of. Thank you for continuing to push for the proper care for your wife. Women often aren’t believed with medical problems, especially a pregnant woman. Wishing for a healthy recovery and healthy baby
Commenter 4: That sounds so, so frightening. The baseline that baby is fine is one set of relief, but having a secure diagnosis and a plan to go forward to help treat it is surely a weight off your shoulders. Your wife is in safe hands, but be prepared to be feeling all kinds of shaky yourself at what you, too, have been going through.
—-NEW UPDATE—-
Update #2: November 14, 2025 (nearly one month later)
TLDR at the bottom:
So I’ve had several people reaching out offering advice, a listening ear, or whatever else is needed.
I want to address all of you first! Thank you. I truly appreciate all the messages and unfortunately although I’ve read each one, I’m not able to respond to them all.
Now, onto the update. She has been in the rehab facility for I think 5 weeks (all the days and dates are blending together).
The facility is brand new (opened in August). They have all new state of the art equipment and all of the therapists are all very knowledgeable on how to use it. That’s part of the good news. The bad news is the nursing staff wasn’t as good as we expected, and we have had to file some complaints.
When she got to the facility (not naming facility for privacy) they did a pin prick test, and she scored a zero on both legs. Two weeks later they tested again and she was a 2 on both legs. They could feel her muscles activating and starting to move the legs but then her spasms would take over. They have been working with her legs and had the OB group sign off on more physical therapy. Now that they have been given the green light, they started more aggressive therapy. They were able to get her to perform sit to stands and she has been able to stand (assisted but don’t know how much) for a few seconds with the therapist. They have her working on a bike (again assisted) but she can’t trigger her legs to move fast enough to override the bike itself. She has been utilizing other therapy techniques but I won’t bore everyone with the details but she is starting to improve more and more every day. She also noticed this week that she can wiggle her toes!!!!
One more that I will share is when she arrived, they gave her 1” cubes and she couldn’t pick them up or move them (either too heavy or couldn’t get a grip). Earlier this week she was able to pick up a cube out of one side the box and drop it on the other (40 times in 60 seconds). She has also been able to successfully sit up on her own (with her head looking up vs pressed down to her chest [PTs will understand this more]).
She is still having problems with bladder and bowel and we believe that will be the very last things to come back online.
They planned to send her home prior to the thanksgiving holiday but have since changed that to after. We don’t want them to send her home just for the holiday and have pushed for her to stay longer. They agreed and have pushed back discharge date into December.
We have also been working with the OB and baby is still growing and doing well. They did want us to come back down to deliver there due to being high risk. They did also state, they would expect to have a natural child birth.
That’s probably a good enough update for now. I’ll update again when I have another substantial update to write about.
TLDR: Pregnant wife is at the new rehab facility (some of the nurses suck but therapists are awesome) and has been able to move her legs, and wiggle her toes. She can also pick up 1” cubes (several in 60 seconds) where she couldn’t pick them up before. Baby is still doing well. Discharge is scheduled for Dec.
Source
The first escalation happens quickly. A pop in her back. Weakness in her hands. Numbness spreading. Spasms every few seconds. By the time they reach the hospital, sensation stops below her chest. The baby’s heart rate is steady. The MRI is not decisive.
The room fills with language ruled out, unlikely, probably nothing. He asks about Guillain-Barré. About multiple sclerosis. About anything that might anchor this to something known. She lies there, arms lifted to the wrists, fingers still.
When Functional Neurological Disorder is offered, it lands with a kind of contained finality. Physical therapy is proposed. Rehab facilities decline. Insurance refuses to cooperate. Days pass.
Then, abruptly, access changes. Friends make calls. A door opens that had been closed. A new MRI is ordered. This time the image speaks differently: spinal cord stroke. Rare. Less than one percent.
After that, the scale shifts. Pinprick test: zero. Two weeks later: two. She stands for a few seconds with assistance. She wiggles her toes. She transfers one-inch cubes across a box forty in sixty seconds. She lifts her head instead of letting it fall forward.
He pushes back when discharge is scheduled around the holiday. He asks them to extend her stay. She works through spasms that interrupt every attempt at control. They track the baby’s growth between therapy sessions.
Bladder and bowel function remain uncertain. The discharge date moves into December. She can stand for a few seconds, assisted.
For now, that is where it stays.