Woman to undergo amputation after legs bend upwards

By Faye Mayern

A young woman will have both her legs surgically amputated after they bent at a 45-degree angle upward.

Megan Dixon, 21, has been left with unbearable, constant pain for the past eight years when her legs fixed completely straight.

Dixon, who also suffers from functional neurological disorder (FND), has bewildered doctors who have not been able to find a cause of her condition.

But she says it has taken them so long to take action that her only choice left is have them both amputated as she struggles with basic, daily tasks.

Dixon, of Cambridgeshire, is fundraising for an electric wheelchair to bring back her independence post-amputation — having not walked since she was 14.

She said: "It was the hardest when I met with the amputee clinic and they said amputation was my best and only option.

"I was hoping deep down they would say there was another way.

"But this is my reality now and I haven't fully come to terms with it yet."

Dixon first became ill when she was 13 years old, suffering from whooping cough and glandular fever.

A year later, she found her legs began to stop working and she hasn't walked since.

Dixon, who was initially diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), had physical therapy, but her legs had locked straight.

She said: "From there I got worse and worse.

"I started to go into a comatose-like state. When I was 16, I stopped being able to sit up by myself and I started to lose the ability to speak.

"My pediatrician was concerned I'd had a stroke so I was rushed to hospital.

"I was supposed to be in for tests over four days — I came out a year and a half later."

At Bristol Hospital, Dixon lost her speech, mobility, strength and her sight.

She was diagnosed with FND, a condition where the brain struggles to send and receive signals correctly.

She became paralyzed from the neck down, needing an NG tube in her nose for feeding.

Dixon said: "I could feel my bones in my legs grating together but I kept being told the pain was in my head and it wasn't real.

"I was silently screaming for 24 hours a day.

"When I went into a coma-like state, I had no idea what was going on. No one could wake me up.

"My legs were completely locked straight and even under anesthetic, they couldn't bend my knees.

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"My left leg had started to bend the wrong way by 10 degrees."

Dixon was discharged from the children's hospital when she turned 18 and said she was left in the community for a year "with no help whatsoever."

Doctors remained baffled as to why Dixon's legs had locked and began to bend.

She said: "I had essentially been left to rot and die in bed.

"My family complained about my care and I was sent to a private nursing home specializing in neurological disorders.

"I was completely paralyzed from the neck down and I had to work on getting all of my functions back.

"But equally my legs got worse and worse.

"I'd seen six different surgeons and was turned away by five.

"When I finally found a surgeon to help me, it had been so long that the damage in my knees was irreversible.

"My left knee is bent at a 45-degree angle and my right is close behind. My only option left is amputation."

As well as battling seizures and chronic pain, Dixon said even day-to-day tasks have been extraordinarily difficult due to her legs.

She explained: "I can't walk on my own so I have to butt shuffle everywhere or use my wheelchair.

"Getting from the floor to the bed is absolute agony for me because of the weight and pressure through my knees.

"I have to be carried to the bed or the toilet and simple tasks take me so much longer."

Dixon is due to have her legs amputated in August and is fundraising for an electric wheelchair and other medical equipment to give her independence back.

She added: "Despite not being able to walk since I was 14, I've only really been in a wheelchair since I was 19 because I spent so long bedbound or in a coma.

"I want to be able to go out with my partner, visiting the zoo, and have him by my side holding hands — as opposed to being on a day out with my caregiver.

"This is my last resort and my only option."

Dixon's message of hope: "If something doesn’t feel right in your body, please listen to it and trust yourself. For six years I was dismissed, and as a result the only surgery now available to me is, regrettably, amputation.

"If you are facing amputation, I want to be honest with you — there are no words that can truly make it easier. It is a devastating and life-changing experience, and something I would never wish on anyone.

"All you can do is take it one day at a time. There will be days when it feels overwhelming, and that’s okay. Allow yourself to feel everything that comes with this journey. Struggling doesn’t mean you are weak — it means you are human.

"But even in the darkest moments, try to hold on to the smallest positives. Sometimes hope comes in the smallest forms: a kind word, a moment of strength, or simply getting through another day.

"Keep fighting for the life that comes after. None of us should have to face something like this, but if it leads to a future where life is a little more bearable, a little less painful, and holds more independence. Then all of this will be worth it."