A 22-year-old woman in England who was previously fit and healthy woke up to find the left side of her face drooping and immobile, and within days lost her ability to speak and walk, according to detikHealth. The outlet, citing NYPost, reports that Lillie Thorne went to sleep as usual on October 1 after spending the day cleaning her house, and discovered the paralysis the following morning.
She attended the emergency department at Furness Hospital, where doctors diagnosed Bell's palsy — a temporary weakness affecting one side of the face — and sent her home with a steroid prescription. She was told recovery could take up to six months, detikHealth reports.
Why it matters
Thorne's case traces a rapid and unusual decline that moved through several diagnoses before doctors settled on Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition her family says remains poorly understood by the public. Her aunt, Ashleigh Thorne, told detikHealth that few people know what FND actually is and that greater awareness of the disorder is needed. The case also illustrates how quickly neurological symptoms can escalate in a young, otherwise healthy adult, and how difficult the diagnostic path can be.
Speech faltered, then walking stopped
The day after her first hospital visit, Thorne's speech began to falter, prompting a return to hospital. According to detikHealth, doctors performed a CT scan to check for a stroke but found no indication that one had occurred. She was given antiviral medication on the suspicion of Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition linked to the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. Her condition continued to deteriorate despite the treatment, and she was admitted to hospital.
On October 7, she lost the ability to speak and to walk. Her family told detikHealth that she went on to experience as many as 30 seizures a day, some of which left her unconscious.
Following a series of tests, doctors diagnosed her with FND. According to Stanford Medicine, as cited by detikHealth, FND is an umbrella term for neurological symptoms that do not match the patterns of recognised medical diseases. Understanding of the condition has grown, and it is now thought to involve a combination of biological, environmental and psychological factors.
Thorne was discharged on October 22 but was still having seizures. She has regained some speech, though detikHealth reports her words remain unclear and halting.
Cause still unconfirmed as physiotherapy begins
Ashleigh Thorne said doctors have not been able to establish what caused her niece's Bell's palsy. They suspect, however, that the FND may have been triggered by stress, she told detikHealth.
Thorne still cannot walk and has been referred for physiotherapy aimed at restoring her movement and independence. It is not yet known how effective that therapy will be in supporting her recovery.
Her aunt described the toll on those close to her. "I think I speak for the whole family and Lillie's close friends when we say it is very hard to see Lillie change from a normal 22-year-old girl to being unable to walk and suffering repeated seizures every day," Ashleigh Thorne said, according to detikHealth.
She added that awareness of the condition is limited: "I don't think many people know what FND actually is, and more awareness is needed about this terrible disorder."
The next marker will be how Thorne responds to physiotherapy, with her family continuing to press for wider recognition of FND in the meantime.
