A mother was left unable to walk unaided after putting off a doctor's appointment because she was busy juggling family, work and life responsibilities.
Sarah Lewis, 46, first began to notice occasional difficulty swallowing, while also having trouble typing in early 2021.
She also began to experience occasional pins and needles in her face, chest and down the left side of her body, and a feeling of general weakness and tiredness.
But Sarah, who is mum to Lily, now 18, and Henry, now 11, said she was too busy juggling her responsibilities as a parent alongside her demanding role as a management accountant, to connect the symptoms and act.
Instead, Sarah, from Solihull, West Midlands, blamed eating too fast, not getting enough sleep, spending too much time sitting down, and not consuming enough iron.
She thought she was "creating something out of nothing" and continued as normal, choosing to use her spare time for school parents’ evenings, assemblies, and saving time to tend to her children if they got ill.
It wasn't until April 2023 - when she suffered severe migraines and struggled to walk - that she finally went to the GP the following month.
Sarah, who is married to Carl, 59, was sent straight to A&E and spent 10 days in hospital having tests, before eventually being diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND) - a condition affecting how the brain receives and sends information to the rest of the body.
Now having to use a wheelchair and rely on her mum as a home carer, Sarah believes the disease might not have progressed as quickly if she had been checked by a doctor sooner - but was too busy to address it.
It comes after research, carried out by Bupa health insurance, found she is not alone, as 73 per cent of parents admit they put their health on hold whilst looking after their children’s wellbeing – leading many to go on to develop serious conditions.
A study of 2,000 parents of children under 16 found half of those have ignored their own symptoms to focus on their children’s health, while 33 per cent have put off seeking medical help.
Others have cancelled medical appointments (24 per cent), delayed a screening appointment (20 per cent) or put off having treatment (19 per cent), while 66 per cent of working parents have avoided taking a day off work when they are unwell as they feel they need to ‘save’ them for when their children are ill.
Ultimately, 71 per cent admitted this led to their issues worsening and becoming more serious.
Sarah said: “Looking back, I didn't realise at the time what was happening. They were such small, isolated things.
“I think it was partly between working and parenting, it's like you're running downhill and momentum is just taking you.
“I didn't take the time to stop and evaluate the situation and always just wrote things off.
“Being a working parent, you can't sacrifice your job or your children, so you just put yourself to the bottom of the pile. There's always something else that needs doing.”
Even when her symptoms intensified in April 2023, she initially brushed them aside.
She said: “Things were stressful at work, my mother-in-law had recently passed, and I just had a lot going on.
“Then on the 3rd May, my son's birthday, I couldn't even walk in a straight line.
“By his birthday party a week later, I was unsteady and struggling to walk at all. I was also stammering a lot.”
She was rushed to Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital with a suspected stroke or brain tumour and while she was taken seriously, doctors reassured her she was "probably overdoing it" at work.
A few months later she was finally diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND).
FND happens when signals between the brain and body are disrupted and can result in seizures, weakness, movement problems, sensory changes, and speech difficulties.
For Sarah, the condition affects her memory alongside issues with speech and swallowing, and she also uses a wheelchair for longer distances due to the pain.
She said: "I look back and think 'why didn't I see a doctor?'. It's crazy.
“But I'd just tell myself 'it'll be fine tomorrow, the kids have school things on, you don't have time right now to stop and evaluate'.”
The study also found 58 per cent have continued to work through sickness instead of taking a day off to recover, as they worry they have already taken too much time off to care for their unwell children.
And when it comes to managing their family’s health, 25 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, said the responsibility is solely on them.
Dr Naveen Puri, medical director for Bupa Insurance, which offers family health cover, said: “One of the most stressful times as a parent is when your children are unwell.
"Understandably, parents often feel they must balance caring for their children with work, household responsibilities and looking after the rest of the family – but it’s crucial they don’t lose sight of their own health in the process.
“Too often, parents put their own health on hold, whether that’s working through illness instead of taking time to recover, ignoring symptoms, or delaying seeking medical support despite having a concern about their health.
"What’s critical is that parents feel able to prioritise their own health, so they can stay well and continue to care properly for the wider family.”
Through Bupa Family health insurance, customers can access a range of everyday healthcare services, including digital GP appointments, physiotherapy and mental health support, helping families get the care they need quickly and easily.
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