A dad with his second baby on the way lost the ability to walk overnight due to a rare illness.
Lee Chambers was excited for the birth of his second child when, a week after his 29th birthday, his wrist randomly began to swell up.
The dad from Preston - who also had an 18-month-old toddler, Myles - had no idea that his life would never be the same after that day.
Within hours, the rest of his body started to show the same symptoms and, when he was taken to hospital a few days later, Lee's muscles were so stiff that he wasn’t able to move or walk.
The dad - who had preparing to take time off work to support his wife, Louise - has now opened up about the experience.
The now 36-year-old said: "I was very scared.
“My wife was at work when the swelling spread to my legs and called my mother-in-law to take me to the doctor.
“She is a foot shorter than me and had to physically drag me out of the house and into the car because my body just wouldn’t respond. I was admitted to hospital soon after and stayed there for a month.
“My life changed overnight."
The incident took place back in 2014, and Lee has spent the past eight years trying to get full function back in his legs and body.
During this time, he struggled with depression, was forced to rely on his family to do menial tasks, had to quit the job he loved and give up his favourite hobby, fitness.
He is now sharing his story to help others who are struggling.
At first, Lee was diagnosed with reactive arthritis – a usually mild condition that causes redness and swelling in the joints but doctors soon realised his case was much more serious.
The dad has never received an exact diagnosis but has been told he has a version of autoimmune arthritis.
While in hospital, he suffered mental and physical challenges, including losing a large chunk of muscle mass while trapped in the bed.
Lee said: “For a long time, I was immobile in a hospital bed.
“My wife came and helped me after work to do basic things like showering.
“I’d lost my independence, which was really challenging mentally, as I prided myself on being active and able to help others, and suddenly I was in a hopeless situation and needed to ask for help.
"It went against my identity.
"At first, I was in shock and didn't know how to feel – then the meds kicked in and I felt like I was on another planet.
"Once I came back to earth though, I was filled with anger and frustration for a long time.
"I kept thinking 'why me' and 'why now' and grieved what had happened to me – especially while not knowing what my future would look like.
"I remember friends who visited being shocked at how bad the situation was in comparison to my usual athletic self, and how I had lost so much weight on my face and my body."
For just under a year, Lee was either stuck at home or in hospital, spending hours in rehab, working towards being able to walk again.
As fate would have it, his newborn daughter, Annabel, was also learning to walk at the same time, with the dad using her determination as his inspiration.
He said: “Having my daughter was a massive motivator but also forced me to adapt, and the little things you take for granted you can't do.
"One that sticks in my memory is I could never get on the floor with her, as I wouldn't be able to get back up.
"Once I was able to move somewhat again, I was using her pram as a walking aid and hobbling around but I really wanted to get back to walking unaided.
“I kept pushing to see how far I could go on my journeys outside – past the lamppost, then the telephone post and so on."
As for his career, prior to his illness, Lee had spent years working as a sports performance coach, and was devastated to give it up.
Lee said: “Becoming unwell took choices away from me.
"I had to think about what I was going to do going forward, obviously having young children and still having a chronic condition.
"I wanted to get back to sports, in whatever form I could."
Despite everything he has been through, the dad still considers his illness to be a positive experience.
In 2020, he launched his own business: Essentialise, an elite performance and coaching agency, which he says is a dream come true.
He said: “Physically I am back to about 70% of where I was but I am at 200% mentally because of what I’ve been through.
“I sometimes feel as if I’m in a place of privilege because of the challenges I’ve faced.
“When you go through that kind of experience, you’re able to use it to empower other people and help them achieve something more.
“It’s almost as if my illness happened for me, not to me.”
In 2022, the dad can finally walk unaided again but still lives with daily pain and stiffness in his knees and is limited in the exercise he can do.Family is still the most important thing in his life.
