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A former Love Island star has revealed that a few years ago, he suffered from a health condition that had a huge impact on his ability to move, ‘paralysing’ him down one side.
In 2018, Jack Fowler appeared on the ITV2 dating series, which was eventually won by Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham.
The reality star was a latecomer to the series, joining on day 26 before being dumped 27 days later, forging connections with Laura Anderson and Laura Crane.
Having recently appeared in the all-star spin-off Love Island Games, the 27-year-old opened up in a new Instagram post about a health issue that he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover from.
He began by explaining that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share his struggles with his fans, ‘but I think just reflecting over the last couple months and how far I’ve come gave me some sort of strength to post and to hopefully give motivation to others’.
Jack shared a video of himself slowly walking along a pavement, in which he explained that his left leg was ‘finished’ and ‘not good at all’.
‘I woke up one morning and couldn’t feel my leg,’ the star said (Picture: Chad Salvador/Shutterstock)
While he couldn’t feel his right leg, it felt ‘stronger’ than his left, as he outlined how he couldn’t plant his foot, lift the toes on his left side or grip.
‘This was me a few years ago, with early signs of Transverse Myelitis. An extremely rare condition which we think stemmed from me having Meningitis a few months before,’ he wrote in his caption.
‘I woke up one morning and couldn’t feel my leg. Around 5 days after this video, I was completely paralysed down my left side with complete numbness down my right side – caused by inflammation across my spinal cord, blocking my central nervous system.
‘With getting worse each couple hours/days and unable to move, life became completely different. I needed help with everything. From cutting my food & eating to getting dressed & undressed.’
Jack shared a video of himself walking along a pavement, demonstrating how he was struggling with his legs (Picture: Instagram/@_jackfowler_)
What is transverse myelitis?
Transverse myelitis is a rare neurological condition, NHS Inform explains.
It’s caused by inflammation (swelling) of the spinal cord, which damages the nerves and can leave permanent scars or lesions.
Symptoms can include:
Muscle weakness in the legs, and sometimes the arms
Mobility problems
Unusual sensations and numbness
Bladder problems
Bowel problems
Sexual problems
Pain
Jack said that it was ‘one of the most scariest times in my life’, as he underwent weeks of tests and seeing the ‘best’ doctors in the country.
However, he still had no diagnoses ‘due to the rarity’ of his condition.
‘Which left me in the dark with what was happening to my body and also if I would ever recover,’ he stated.
The reality star began treatment and was able to make a 100% recovery that year, which took ‘time and patience’, as well as the ‘love and support’ of his family and friends.
‘I was a very lucky case as some people never recover,’ he added.
He showed how he had to lift up his left leg in order to get dressed (Picture: Instagram/@jackfowler)
Jack acknowledged that doing the Love Island Games was in part about him proving ‘to myself that I could do it, even after what I had gone through’.
He also shared that learning how to DJ helped him keep his ‘mind focused’ while remaining sit down.
‘So really this post is more of a motivational one. Everyone has dark times in life & sometimes you don’t see how you’ll get through. But keep going. Keep focused. And don’t quit. And when you do, you’ll look back and realise how far you come❤️,’ he concluded.
The Love Island star received numerous messages of support, with Love Island host Maya Jama commenting: ‘🙌🙌 and you smashed it! What a journey 🙏🏽.’
Love Island star Francesca Allen wrote: ‘Omg wow jack proud of you for sharing bro, what a recovery! 👏🏼,’ while former The Only Way Is Essex star Jessica Wright added: ‘Aww Jack ❤️👏.’
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‘I woke up one morning and couldn’t feel my leg,’ the star said.