TikToker Megan Dixon, a 21-year-old from the United Kingdom, is preparing for a life-altering surgery after doctors identified amputation as the best and only option for her legs.
Her journey toward this difficult decision began when she was 13, following bouts of whooping cough and glandular fever. She was initially diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME, but her health continued to decline in a way that left her medical team searching for answers.
Dixon spent the last eight years with her legs locked in place. At 16, she lost the ability to sit up on her own and eventually lost her speech. During a stay at Bristol Hospital, she experienced a terrifying loss of mobility, strength, and sight. She described the physical sensation as feeling her bones grating together, yet she faced the frustration of being told her pain was not real. As she put it, “I was silently screaming for 24 hours a day.”
According to PEOPLE, it was later determined that Dixon suffers from functional neurological disorder, or FND. This condition can lead to movement problems, pain, and seizure-like episodes. As she has recorded on TikTok, it has put her back on the path to recovery. However, it was too late for her legs.
It is so frustrating that it took her so long to get a proper diagnosis
Right after a diagnosis, at her worst, she was experiencing up to 50 seizures a day, though that number has since dropped to 10 to 15 as of April 2025. After leaving the children’s hospital at 18, she was transferred to the Eagle Wood Neurological Care Center, where she had to relearn how to function after being paralyzed from the neck down.
The damage to her knees remained a persistent issue, and she was turned away by five different surgeons before she finally found one willing to help. Unfortunately, the damage in her joints was irreversible.
Her left knee is bent at a 45-degree angle, and her right is not far behind. This makes daily tasks like moving from the floor to a bed an incredibly painful experience. She currently relies on a wheelchair or a method she calls bum shuffling to move around, which makes simple independence feel out of reach.
Despite these challenges, Dixon maintains a clear vision for her future. She is hopeful about training to become a nail technician and wants to enjoy outings with her partner, Oliver Carrick.
The couple recently celebrated their engagement with a Disney theme, and she frequently shares her experiences on TikTok to support others. She is also fundraising on GoFundMe to help cover the costs of a specialist wheelchair and additional medical expenses associated with the surgery.
Dixon acknowledges the weight of her upcoming surgery, but encourages others facing similar struggles to take things one day at a time. She believes that holding onto small positives, even during the darkest moments, is essential.
For her, amputation will be freedom and the path to a pain-free life. For some others, amputations are a fetish, imposed on others, and eventually, on himself.
