Young Nottinghamshire man who was 'trapped inside own body' defies the odds in amazing recovery

A Nottinghamshire man has "defied the odds" by learning to walk and talk again after an extremely rare neurological condition left him paralysed for three years. Liam Virgo, 21, suffered a rapid decline in his early teenage years which resulted in him feeling trapped inside his own body.

After months of unanswered questions and countless tests in hospital, he was diagnosed with functional neurologic disorder (FND), a condition which effects how the brain receives and sends information to the rest of the body. “It completely shut down my whole body, I couldn’t walk, talk or anything," recalls Liam.

"I was trapped in my body, I couldn’t move anything." The Annesley resident is still on his road to recovery, but has regained his ability to speak and is slowly relearning how to walk.

His mother, Samantha, said: "He’s defied the odds, we say and all the professionals do as well. We’re so proud of Liam it brings tears to my eyes."

While Liam is now in a much better place, Mrs Virgo described watching the decline of her son as "hell, the darkest moments were horrible". His cognitive skills began spiralling aged 13.

“I remember him coming downstairs and talking like a toddler. It didn’t sound like Liam’s voice. We thought he was pretending at first then we thought ‘this is serious’," said Mrs Virgo.

“It got to the stage where it wasn’t safe for Liam to go to school. He couldn't walk straight, he started to wet himself, each week there was something new."

The 57-year-old, who gave up her job to become her son's full-time carer, said not even medical professionals knew what was happening. “I was so frightened and no one knew what was happening to Liam," she said.

Eventually he was taken to King’s Mill and “shut down really quick”. He was then transferred to the Queen’s Medical Centre and subjected to “so many tests” with at least 20 professionals involved in his care, his mother said.

“They said Liam’s brain had shut down but they couldn’t do anything else. They were comparing it to a trauma but there was no explanation to say he had been in a trauma.

“At one point, we thought we were going to lose Liam. He was so poorly and he had to be put to sleep for these tests. I was scared he wouldn’t come back round."

Upon being diagnosed with FND, the family were told there was nothing that could be done other than wait for Liam to get better. “He was bedridden for more or less three years," said Mrs Virgo.

“We didn’t think he would get better. It was a traumatic time for all of us but he survived it and got through it and is still fighting it now.

"He’s been robbed of his teenage years, he was too ill to go to school or college." Liam says he finds it difficult to remember much of his initial experience of the condition.

"I didn’t know what was happening to me. I was completely trapped. I was completely bedbound for three years, I couldn’t even sit up.

“The only place I could tolerate was my bed. I was in absolute agony."

Recalling his first trip outside after being bedbound, a visit to Nottingham's Christmas market, Liam said: “I thought ‘oh my God I’m about’ I was very nervous about being back in the outside world. It felt good to be back in the fresh air.

“I still have rough days, it’s still there and really affects me but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was. Just being in a wheelchair is a big thing for me."

While restricted to his bed Liam developed a “special bond” with two things - London and Loose Women. Those are two things he has managed to embrace on his recovery journey, making several trips to the capital and the set of the ITV daytime show, even getting the chance to meet its panellists.

“My mum just put it on one day and I loved it, now I’ve met 10 Loose Women. I’ve been to London many times. They were the things that motivated me," he said.

Liam said there is a lot of misunderstanding around FND. "There’s no magic cure to make it all go away. To me it affects my brain, body and movement. Other people can go blind or other things," he said.

“We don’t hear much about it. I know it’s rare but there’s other people that have it as well. Sometimes I feel like my symptoms weren’t believed and I didn’t have a voice. That was the hardest thing, not being able to say how you feel and what you want."