A grandmother's tingling leg turned out to be an early warning sign of a life-threatening autoimmune condition that left her hospitalised for 10 months. Mandy Tipling, 65, had only just recovered from a bacterial infection when she began experiencing a tingling sensation in her left leg in January 2025.
The feeling gradually spread to her other leg, her arms and her face — yet blood tests, MRIs and X-rays all failed to pinpoint the cause. In June 2025, Mandy, who now lives in Alicante, Spain, but originally hails from Pontefract, was rushed to hospital after her family became convinced she was suffering a stroke.
The grandmother-of-eight was treated for dehydration and underwent an operation to remove a perforated gall bladder, which doctors discovered upon her admission. However, following the procedure her arms swelled to twice their usual size, and she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in August 2025 — after scans eliminated other possible causes.
The rare condition triggers the immune system into attacking the body's own nerves, typically after a viral or bacterial infection. She spent 10 months in hospital recuperating and undergoing physiotherapy, before finally returning home.
Frustration and Fear
Mandy, a retired secretary, said: "I was frustrated with how long it took to get a diagnosis, it felt as though I was going crazy. It felt like the doctors didn't believe me as all my tests were coming back normal to begin with."
"It was a scary time because I didn't know what was happening or what was going to happen. My memory is pretty hazy over it all, I've had to rely on my family to tell me most of what was happening."
"Losing the ability to do anything is so frightening. Going from being able to do everything to nothing in the blink of an eye is something I never imagined."
"Each day I feel more determined than the last to build on my strength and to recover and I couldn't do that without the support of my loving husband, my amazing family and wonderful friends."
"There is so little known about GBS and that's scary, so many people could be going through the same as me and not know. It takes so long to get a diagnosis. It's a long and slow road to recovery, who knows how long it will take, but I try to tell myself every day that I will recover. Hopefully, my memory will improve as I do."
A Daughter's Perspective
Her daughter, Melissa Storey, 38, an ambulance practitioner and student paramedic, said: "Everything just spiralled, she was needing more and more support and was back and forth to the doctor, but they couldn't work out what was going on." By May 2025, Mandy required an electric wheelchair, and when her family noticed her body slumping to the right and her speech becoming slurred, they rushed her to Torrevieja University Hospital in June. Doctors found she had a perforated gall bladder, which was subsequently removed.
Following the operation, Mandy's body began to swell with fluid. Melissa said: "She had just ballooned. Her arms and legs were massive." Mandy underwent further MRIs, an ultrasound and a CT scan, and once all other conditions were ruled out, she was diagnosed with GBS. Melissa said: "It's heart-breaking to know you can't help the person you love the most in the world. We've all been so worried about her for ages. We didn't know if she would survive, so every time I visited, I thought it might be the last."
Recovery and Fundraising
Mandy was discharged from hospital in April — she can now raise her arms halfway, hold her head up unaided and has recovered some of her speech, though she tires extremely quickly. Melissa is fundraising €34,000 to purchase a specialist wheelchair that would enable her mum to access the upper floors of her third-floor flat, where she is currently confined to sleeping in a hospital bed in the sitting room.
She estimates the illness has cost the couple €15,000 in total, comprising €10,000 in travel costs for husband Paul, 70, to visit the hospital, €3,000 for Melissa's own travel, and €2,000 for Mandy's hospital bed. Melissa, who shared the story via Sell Us Your Story, said: "We just want to raise awareness about Guillain-Barré syndrome. Doctors and nurses seem to know very little about it. Most people haven't heard of it, so as a family we want to shout it from the rooftops so it can become more widely known."
"It's so lovely to see mum able to smile again, but we've still got a long way to go. If you get the tingling symptoms following an infection, go to your GP as soon as you can: early treatment is key." A fundraising page has been created to help support Mandy.
