Credit: GoFundMe & @notdeadapparel/Instagram
Woman Who Thought She Had ‘Common Cold’ Discovered Her Head Was Detached From Her Body
A woman thought she had a common cold, before discovering that her head was not attached to her body.
Amy Ironside Wood endured years of debilitating symptoms after what she initially thought was a simple ‘common cold.’
Her condition, however, turned out to be far more severe and life-altering.
In a shocking diagnosis, Amy discovered her skull was not properly attached to her spine.
Amy’s health issues began in 2017 when her young daughter, Willow, contracted glandular fever at nursery.
While Willow recovered within a week, Amy’s symptoms persisted and worsened.
Initially, she believed she had caught a cold, but soon she began experiencing severe fatigue and weakness.
She explained to The Mirror: “I felt a level of fatigue that I could never have imagined as a healthy person – my heart would race when I would roll over in bed as if I’d just run up a flight of stairs.
“My legs were so weak that I felt my knees would buckle after standing for just a few minutes.”
At times, Amy felt so faint and weak that she had to crawl to her daughter’s bedroom at night if Willow woke up.
She described the ordeal as feeling as though she was repeatedly on the verge of passing out.
After six months of enduring these symptoms and undergoing numerous blood tests, Amy, who lives in Nottingham, was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
However, she remained determined to better understand her condition.
“I spent every waking minute researching my condition – if I could work out what was actually happening in my body, then maybe I could find a way to treat it,” she said.
Her search for answers led her to try numerous diets, supplements, and medications, but nothing provided lasting relief.
A turning point came when Amy discovered a talk by American filmmaker Jennifer Brea, who shared her experience of achieving remission from ME through neurosurgery.
This revelation gave Amy hope. “I cannot explain the excitement I felt when I thought that there was a cure – even if it meant going through major surgery, I would have done anything at that point to get my life back,” she said.
In 2022, Amy sought help from a specialist in Barcelona and received a life-changing diagnosis: craniocervical instability (CCI).
This rare condition occurs when the skull is not securely attached to the spine. Treatments for CCI are often invasive and expensive, ranging from surgeries to stem cell injections.
To fund her treatment, Amy launched a clothing brand called Not Dead Apparel in 2023.
The brand features items emblazoned with slogans like ‘Tired Girl’s Club’ and ‘Live. Laugh. Lie Down,’ with all profits going toward her medical expenses.
Amy shared that while she manages the business, physical tasks such as embroidery are handled by others because her body ‘just isn’t in a place to do anything physical right now.’
Sales gained momentum after an influencer promoted one of her hats, helping her raise more funds.
Adding to her challenges, Amy received a diagnosis in October 2024 of a tethered spinal cord, a condition where the spinal cord is abnormally attached to surrounding tissue, limiting its movement.
Amy described the emotional toll of her condition, saying: “People barely remember the true me, and I grieve for her most days.”
She explained that her symptoms often limit her ability to engage in everyday activities.
“I can’t take my daughter to the park or for days out. I can’t be in restaurants or cafes because the ambient noise worsens my symptoms a lot,” she shared, adding that the social isolation has been one of the hardest aspects to bear.
In addition to her clothing line, Amy has a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the costs of her treatments, providing another way for people to support her journey toward recovery.
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