'My headache symptoms were the warning signs of a rare life-changing disorder'

Georgia Kelsall was just getting started in life when she had her world turned upside down.

The dental nurse had not long turned 21 when she started experiencing strange symptoms including headaches and a bad back.

She visited a GP who prescribed her some painkillers which appeared to solve her medical issues.

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But two months later, she woke and realised her eyesight had partly disappeared in a terrifying turn of events.

Georgia, from Chadderton, booked an appointment at her local optician but was immediately referred to an eye hospital.

They feared she had papilledema, the swelling of the optic nerve which connects the eye and brain.

However, it was later discovered that Georgia was actually suffering from something much worse.

Following several stays in hospitals around Greater Manchester, Georgia was eventually diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called neuromyelitis optica.

Neuromyelitis optica, known as NMO, is a central nervous system disorder that causes inflammation in nerves of the eye and the spinal cord.

It can often be misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis or seen as a type of MS.

The condition mainly affects the spinal cord and the optic nerves, the nerves that carry signals from the eyes to the brain. As a result, the disease can cause paralysis and blindness.

It can also lead to painful spasms, loss of sensation, uncontrollable vomiting and hiccups and bladder or bowel problems from spinal cord damage.

Georgia has already lost all of her peripheral vision and 75 per cent of her sight in her right eye.

Sadly, as the condition attacks the central nervous system, there’s a chance she could go blind