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Lawyer Suffers Condition Which Caused Shoe Size to Halve Making Her Stumble and ‘Appear Drunk’

September 14, 2016

Courtesy of The Mirror

A lawyer has told how her shoe size has halved due to a rare genetic disorder.

Sarah-Lyn Mumberson, 27, has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a disease that damages nerves outside the brain and spine.

It 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 Carlisle lawyer used to wear a size three shoe, but now needs to wear a size 1.5.

The disease 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.”

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

Charity CMT UK said it was vital “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.”

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