Sydney Anne Bennett lives with functional neurological disorder (FND), which is a condition where the brain doesn’t communicate properly with the nervous system. Sydney's symptoms include chronic pain, hallucinations, loss of taste, trouble sleeping, hand paralysis, seizures, ataxia, muscle spasms, fatigue, and difficulty using her legs. Consequently, after a year of fighting symptoms and multiple emergency room visits, emergency room doctors referred her to a neurologist who diagnosed her with FND. 

Sydney shares her experience with a neurologist who indicated that her symptoms were due to past trauma and that she was “just stressed out.” The neurologist referred her to a psychiatrist and canceled further imaging despite finding unusual white matter in her brain. Following her own research on functional neurological disorder, she recognized that FND is not simply a stress response. Rather, FND is a real disease indicative of dysfunction in the connection between the brain and the nervous system. Moreover, Sydney consulted with a different neurologist. The neurologist also confirmed the FND diagnosis after a detailed workup with brain and spine scans and ruled out multiple sclerosis. Sydney accepted the condition and worked on symptom management once she recognized that this diagnosis wasn’t in her head or brought upon herself.

In this episode of the Major Pain podcast, Sydney discusses her chronic illness journey with functional neurological disorder as a new mother. She shares her initial insecurity and then acceptance of using mobility aids to navigate her symptoms and to improve quality of life. Further, she reveals her process of gaining confidence by changing her mindset about disability. On social media, Sydney has become an advocate for people with FND. Additionally, she has found connection and community, and works to break the stigma of FND, disabilities, and mobility aids. Through confidence and faith, Sydney is making the best of her journey with FND.

Connect with Sydney Anne Bennett on her website: https://sydneyannebennett.com/