A 35-year-old software engineer from Centurion, South Africa, was left paralysed from the chest down within 15 minutes after a bout of flu, and doctors say he may never walk again. Tinus Greyling had been battling influenza A for nearly two weeks when he was rushed to hospital with a severe fever. Within minutes, he lost sensation and movement in his legs, and later lost control of his bladder and bowels.
Greyling and his wife Megan, 32, had attended a wedding in July 2025 and both fell ill with flu. While Megan recovered, Tinus's condition worsened. He saw a doctor who prescribed antibiotics, but hours later his right hip began to ache. Friends took him to hospital, where he was given a wheelchair due to pain. He described feeling 'the life draining from his legs' as paralysis set in over 15 minutes.
After three months in hospital and six weeks in rehabilitation, Greyling was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a spinal cord inflammation triggered by an autoimmune reaction to the flu. Doctors told him the condition is incurable and only time will tell if he can walk again. 'I think they just didn't want to give me false hope,' he said.
Despite the devastating diagnosis, Greyling remains positive. 'I choose to stay positive, especially for the people around me,' he said. He is grateful he can still use his arms and hands, and that he can work from home. He has had his spinal cord and stem cells harvested, believing stem cell therapy offers hope. A colleague started a fundraiser to cover the costs of treatment not covered by medical aid.
Megan, who cared for him throughout, said: 'How could flu cause this? I was sick too but here I am now, healthy.' She added she is relieved to have her 'best friend' back home, but struggles with how quickly life changed. Greyling says he focuses on gratitude: 'Yes, I can't walk, but I'm alive.'
