I thought I just had a bad back and sciatica – but days later I was in a wheelchair due to rare condition

A DAD thought his bad back was nothing to worry about - but days later he was in a wheelchair.

Father-of-three Chris Mee just thought he suffered with aches and pains and sciatica, but was soon after struck down by a rare spinal syndrome that has left him partially paralysed.

The scaffolder from Horwich, Bolton, was so unbothered by the tricky pain in his back that he was even training for his first marathon in Edinburgh in May.

He told the that it wasn't until he lifted a heavy box while out shopping in November that he realised his back had "totally gone".

For the next few days, Chris, 34, struggled with the pain - and was told by his GP that if things got any worse, he must go to A&E.

With the issue only getting worse, the dad took himself in, where he underwent an MRI scan and, following the results, was greenlit for surgery.

Medics told him he had been suffering from cauda equina syndrome, where the nerves in the spine become severely compressed.

He said: "It just happened so suddenly

"I was blue-lighted for surgery as they treat it as a medical emergency, it was the same category as a heart attack or a stroke.

"I'm not totally paralysed and I can get about a lot better than 12 weeks ago, but it's going to take time."

The 34-year-old added that it had turn his, and the lives of his three boys and his wife, Katy, 34, "upside down".

He said: "I'm just really unlucky that it happened and it's turned our lives upside down."

And sadly, Chris has been informed by docs that the progress he makes over the next few years will be as much as he can manage, and he might never return back to full health.

Meanwhile, Chris's son, Oscar has been growing his hair for two years, intending to donate it to a cancer charity and raise money for a good cause.

His mum, Katy, said: "Oscar has taken a lot of negative comments about his long hair and just brushed them off, showing huge strength of character.

"He is doing us all proud."