Mum, 47, doesn't know if she'll walk again after mystery illness strikes

Mum, 47, doesn't know if she'll walk again after mystery illness strikes Rebecca Kibble felt fiery pain before she lost sensation in her legs A 'fit and healthy' mum claimed she felt the lower half of her body 'leave' when struck by a mystery illness that left her paralysed from the waist down. Rebecca Kibble said her legs started feeling 'really painful' while tending to her allotment on October 11, but started 'burning' while getting ready for work the following morning. The horrified 47-year-old mum said that within 20 minutes of the fiery pain, she lost sensation in her legs and couldn't move properly. Rebecca, a self-employed therapist, initially rang 111 before calling her mum and 999 when she lost control of her bladder too. Ambulance staff blue-lighted Rebecca to hospital where she had two MRI scans, a CT scan, two lumbar punctures and blood tests. Cause not confirmed Despite running a gauntlet of tests, puzzled doctors are still unable to identify the cause, but believe a rare autoimmune disease could be to blame. The former model, who doesn't know if she'll walk again, is "praying" for a diagnosis after admitting her situation was a 'massive shock'. A pal has set up a GoFundMe page for Rebecca to financially support as she recovers. Rebecca, from Solihull, West Midlands, said: "It was a massive shock and people can't believe it. I was absolutely fine, so it's just scary. "My legs were aching on the Sunday when I was at the allotment getting up and down weeding. I thought 'flipping hell, my legs are really painful today' and they never are as I'm super fit and healthy. "[The next day] I got up for work and I was downstairs at my desk. My legs felt like when you've been to the gym and you do those last few pushes and get that real surge of burning. "Within about 10 minutes I went to the toilet and thought 'this doesn't feel right' and I felt a bit of a weird sensation. I was on the sofa and couldn't really move and I could feel the bottom half of my body leaving me. "I rang 111 and spoke to them [...] The doctor said in the meantime if I lost control over my bladder or bowels, I should ring 999 straight away. My mum came through the door and I said 'I think I'm going to wet myself'. I tried to have a wee and my legs had just gone and I couldn't support myself. "Within about 40 minutes of it happening I was in the living room on the doorway on the floor and couldn't feel my legs. I had a heavy, burning, weird pain." Possible autoimmune disease While doctors suspect it could be a rare autoimmune disease, Rebecca faces six to 12 weeks in hospital undergoing more tests to figure out what triggered her paralysis. Rebecca said: "I can't walk, can't feel my legs and I've got a catheter in. It's just petrifying because is this me now for life? I've been crying all the time and it's awful. The doctors were all scratching their heads about it, but they just don't have the answers at the moment and we're still at a loss. "It's like a rollercoaster. The other day I was told I might never walk again and then someone else said 'I'm going to get you out of here'. "Does me being fully healed mean me walking out of here like I walked in here? Am I going to be permanently disabled? "It's life-changing if I can't walk again. I believe in Jesus, so I believe I'm going to be healed, but there's a chance I might be like this forever, I'm trying not to let my head think about it. It's all new and very frightening and it's just horrible." Spreading awareness Now Rebecca is hoping to spread awareness of what happened to her and encourage others to be 'grateful' for what they have. Rebecca said: "It's just worrying because I'm self-employed and I don't earn money. It's my livelihood and it's petrifying. "It's life-changing for me for people to donate, it's just an awful situation and I'm helpless. It's life-changing for every single person in my life. Luckily I've got so many good friends, but I don't want to be a burden. "I'm taking it day by day and praying for answers. I think it's important for people to be aware of it, as it's pretty scary. "People need to be grateful for being able to walk and hear and see. It's the most incredible thing and people need to focus on that. The most important thing is just being healthy."