Home   News   Article

Fundraiser Juliet won't let neurological disorder stop her in charity challenge


By Philip Murray



Sharin Trevelyan (partner), Connor Jarvis (member consultant), Juliet Hyslop (fundraiser) and Rory Conti (sales manager). Picture: James Mackenzie.
Sharin Trevelyan (partner), Connor Jarvis (member consultant), Juliet Hyslop (fundraiser) and Rory Conti (sales manager). Picture: James Mackenzie.

A DEBILITATING brain disorder that resulted in numerous stints in hospital will not stop a determined woman from raising awareness and vital cash for charity.

Juliet Hyslop, who lives in Weymouth but comes from Inverness and still has family in the Highland capital, has battled Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) for several years.

The disorder causes problems with how the brain receives and sends information to the rest of the body. Symptoms can include weakness or paralysis, tremors or difficulty walking, a loss of balance, seizures, difficulty swallowing, loss of consciousness and episodes of unresponsiveness.

Despite it being "very disabling" at times, she had "managed pretty well with my condition" but was then dealt an additional blow last December when she suffered seizures related to FND that resulted in her spending a "considerable amount of time" rehabilitating at the specialist stroke unit at Dorchester Community Hospital – and then a further two weeks of acute hospital at home care.

And to thank the health staff for their "truly wonderful" care, Juliet has decided to raise awareness and some money for the cause through a sporting fundraiser to coincide with FND awareness month.

More community news.

Although she is a keen runner, Juliet's condition currently means she cannot do that for safety reasons, so she is instead doing as many miles as possible on her exercise bike at home – and during an imminent visit to see family in Inverness, she will also be using the facilities at the city's Anytime Fitness gym for free, thanks to kind-hearted staff at the site.

Juliet Hyslop has been given access to the cycle machines at Anytime Fitness to complete her fundraiser to raise money for FND support. Picture: James Mackenzie.
Juliet Hyslop has been given access to the cycle machines at Anytime Fitness to complete her fundraiser to raise money for FND support. Picture: James Mackenzie.

She said: "A great big thanks to Anytime Fitness in Inverness. If you can find a pound or two to donate as I rack up the miles it would be amazing and so well appreciated by the organisation FND Hope (who desperately need funding) and the stroke ward team.

Juliet added: "Every member of this care team were truly wonderful and could not have done more. I will always have FND but with medication and other forms of therapy I can live a good quality of life.

"During my stay in the community hospital there were NHS strikes for better pay (rightly so!) but you would never have known from the love, care and time I received from every member of staff.

"Nothing was too much for them. When I heard what nurses and HCA’s get paid I was truly shocked and disgusted! The government should hang their heads in shame!

"But here’s the thing the staff don’t do it for the money but for the love of their work and the people they care for.

"I was only home a couple of weeks, when I must have had a seizure and fell face down onto hard flooring. I was taken to hospital where I had 14 further seizures. After 24 hours I was allowed home.

Anytime Fitness on Harbour Road. Picture: James Mackenzie.
Anytime Fitness on Harbour Road. Picture: James Mackenzie.

"I was one of the lucky ones on the stroke/neurological unit. Physiotherapy and psychological therapies will help with my condition but it will always be a part of me. But, I will NOT let it define me."

The team at Anytime Fitness were happy to help Juliet out in her fundraising challenge.

Club owners Donald and Luciana said: "As a small, local, family-run business, we are always looking for ways to support our community and give back. When we heard about Juliet's challenge, we knew we wanted to do what we could to help. We were happy to offer our exercise bike facilities at the club free of charge to Juliet so that she could carry out her fundraiser and reach her goals.

"We believe that it is important for local businesses like ours to support individuals and organisations that are working to make a positive impact in our community. We wish Juliet all the best in her charity exercise bike challenge and hope that her efforts will raise both funds and awareness for FND."

To donate to her fundraiser go to www.gofundme.com/f/dorset-county-hospital-stroke-unit.

This year's FND Awareness Day is March 25.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More