Lawyer bids to raise awareness of condition that has made her feet shrink

A lawyer who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that has caused her feet to shrink is trying to raise awareness of her condition.

Sarah-Lyn Mumberson has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a group of inherited disorders that damages nerves outside the brain and spine.

The condition has caused a range of symptoms in Ms Mumberson, including shrinking feet and mobility problems which have led people to wrongly believe she is drunk.

The 27-year-old from Carlisle used to wear a size three shoe, but now needs to wear a size 1.5.

Ms Mumberson’s condition was diagnosed five years ago but she started showing symptoms when she was a toddler.

Around 23,000 people in the UK are thought to have the disease, which can cause pain, chronic fatigue, unstable ankles, balance problems and falls.

Sufferers can also experience numbness or pain and the condition is incurable and progressive, meaning symptoms get worse over time.

Ms Mumberson struggles to balance, stumbles as she walks, cannot climb stairs without a bannister or stand still without something to lean on.

In her early twenties she was frequently refused entry to bars and clubs because bouncers believed she was drunk.

She said: “That’s all in the past now, as I rarely go out, but it was embarrassing at the time.

“On a night out with friends, we’d try and get into pubs or clubs, but the bouncers stopped me at the door assuming I was really drunk.”

She said that her diagnosis was a “relief” adding: “Once I officially knew what I had, it enabled me to find out more about the condition and how to treat it, get support from the charity CMT UK and not feel so alone with the difficulties I faced.”

She added: “Despite the challenges CMT has thrown at me, I have a wonderful life and I got married last September.

“We decided early on not to have children because I could pass CMT on to them, although I appreciate other people take that risk and have children with CMT who lead happy and fulfilling lives.

“For me, the deciding factor was that because of the severity of my own symptoms I wouldn’t be able to give a child the help my parents were able to give me.”

She is supporting CMT awareness month and the charity CMT UK.

CMT UK’s chief operating officer, Karen Butcher said:  “We want to support people with CMT, who could be trying to deal with the condition on their own.

“There will be several reasons for this; their symptoms may be very slight so they think they’re just clumsy or tired all the time, it could be they are in denial, they may have been misdiagnosed with something else or they simply don’t want any support – that’s fine too.

“Finally, they may not know they have CMT or what symptoms to look for, so our aim this month is to tell people all about CMT and encourage them to seek medical help from their GP, as well as support from us if they want it.

“We know what they’re going through and the challenges they face, so we can answer their questions, put them in touch with other people and families with CMT, and tell them where they can get practical support and advice.”

To find out more visit www.cmt.org.uk or call 0800 6526316.

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