A MUM had her leg amputated after doctors misdiagnosed her rare vascular disease as anxiety.
Danielle Thomas, 40, attended numerous doctor appointments after being unable to walk 300m and mistaking gangrene for an ingrown toenail.
The mum-of-two from Retford, , first went to her in April last year, complaining of pins and needles and numbness in her feet and hand.
She was referred to a neurologist who conducted tests in July, including her bloods and an MRI scan to see if anything was wrong with her brain.
But after they came back fine, Danielle claims the doctor told her it could be down to her mental as she had been domestically abused some years prior, which “massively” affected her.
She returned four months later in November, complaining that her legs felt like they were “dying” if she walked any further than 300 metres.
The neurologist conducted further tests, including CT scan on her spine, but couldn’t find a cause for the issue and later diagnosed her with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND).
FND is a medical condition where there is a problem with how the brain sends and receives signals, according to the NHS.
Later the same month Danielle saw her GP again, claiming she thinks she had an ingrown toenail which is causing her symptoms to flare up.
As a skin therapist, she “pushed hard” to be referred to a podiatry specialist, whom she saw three months later in February 2026.
At the appointment, she was told that her toe was in fact “dead”.
Danielle said: “As soon as I took my sock off and he took a look he said there was nothing he could do to help.
“He said that it was a circulation problem within my legs. I had gangrene on my toe, as it had begun to die due to limited blood flow.”
He then made an urgent referral to a vascular specialist at Doncaster Royal Infirmary who conducted a CT scan of her legs and found several blockages in both legs.
She was finally diagnosed with Buerger disease – where arteries and veins in the arms and legs become swollen and blocked by blood clots.
Doctors told her it developed due to her on-and-off habit she has had since her 20s, which at times saw her smoke around 5-10 cigarettes a day.
Tragically, the condition meant that on September 7 she was forced to have to right leg amputated just below her knee, above the clots in her leg, to prevent further infection.
Danielle said: “I was devastated to have lost my leg. My world imploded.
“If I had been referred in July, then I would have stopped smoking and the blockages wouldn’t have gotten so big.
“At least I am still young and will be able to recover faster.”
Danielle claims that if she had been diagnosed months earlier, she could have saved her leg.
She said: “It makes me angry sometimes when I think about it.
“I think that they could potentially have saved my leg.
“They tested all of my nervous system, my brain, my cervical, but left out my vascular which was the problem.
“I felt like I was overshadowed as I told the neurologist that it felt like I had grit in my veins.
“I feel like they wanted my symptoms to fit FND.
“I am just so glad I pushed my GP to refer me to the podiatry specialist, as otherwise who knows what would have happened to me.”
She is currently crowdfunding to raise for her car to be adapted with specialist pedals, meaning she can keep her independence.
You can donate here .
