Former Potton teacher who recovered from full body paralysis is a 'miracle of modern medicine'

A brave Potton man who recovered from full body paralysis is cycling 1,600 miles to raise funds for charity.

Leigh James, 52, a former teacher at Burgoyne Middle School, spent over a month in Addenbrooke's Hospital after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP).

But thanks to an early diagnosis, Leigh's mobility is now back to normal and he is aiming to match his miles and raise £1,600 for GAIN (Guillain-Barré & Associated Inflammatory Neuropathies) and ACT (the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust).

Leigh said: "In May 2022, I found myself paralysed in hospital. I had developed a very serious neurone condition called CIDP, which is a very rare and very serious disease and affects only around 500 people in the UK. CIDP is a very difficult disease to diagnose, and to recover from – many people remain physically compromised. My own recovery has been astounding – a modern-day medical miracle."

In late February 2022, Leigh's legs "suddenly stopped working". The GP arranged an MRI scan, although at this stage Leigh could still walk short distances and was otherwise in fair health. But in early May, Leigh noticed a further deterioration – he couldn’t lift his arms very high.

He said: "Things progressed very quickly at that point. I started to lose my balance and it was obvious that something was very wrong. I was admitted to Addenbrooke's on Monday, May 30th. One of the first doctors to see me admitted that I would shortly become one of the most-tested patients in the hospital."

As Leigh's condition worsened, the Neurology team, led by Dr Gunawardana, worked hard to find the answer and eventually diagnosed Leigh with CIDP.

Leigh added: "In fact, I had come down with an extremely rare variant. By the Saturday I was completely paralysed and was in a very bad shape. I ended up spending over a month in Addenbrooke's."

The condition had caused Leigh to produce extra proteins, which had confused his body into attacking itself. This had caused problems for his myelin sheaths (which are made up of protein and fatty substances, and allow electrical impulses to transmit along the nerve cells), as the sheaths swelled up, meaning his nerves died off.

Leigh said: "It was, effectively, complete paralysis - as if my neck had been broken. In effect, the signals from my brain were unable to get through to my muscles. I could just about move a few fingers."

But thanks to high-dose steroids and a strong drug called Rituximab, Leigh's mobility is now back to normal and "the debilitating nerve-pain has gone".

Leigh said: "I've been left immunocompromised for the next four months but apart from that my health seems to be in a very good place."

Now Leigh aims to complete his charity cycling challenge by April 30, thanks to his spin bike. Beginning in November, he has so far cycled over 850 miles, raised over £1,000, and lost 6lbs in weight.

Leigh would like to say thank you to his family – wife Helen, 52, and children India, 26, and Orlando, 21, and "the great number of people and health professionals" involved in his recovery at Addenbrooke's and Bedford Hospital.

Visit his JustGiving page to donate.