I was pregnant and misdiagnosed — I had to learn to walk again

February 17, 2023

This mommy-to-be was taken aback by her harrowing diagnosis.

At 36 weeks pregnant, an expecting mom, known online as Liz Bear, began experiencing trouble walking.

She alerted her doctors to the concerning impairment, but was dismissively diagnosed with sciatica, a sharp pain that radiates down the back and into the legs. It’s a condition most people experience during their third trimester of pregnancy.

However, the true source of Bear’s pain was anything but common.

“Doctors were wrong,” the married mother lamented in the closed-caption of her trending TikTok testimonial with more than 1.5 million views. “I had a spinal AVM. Needed 2 surgeries and had to relearn to walk.”

Bear revealed on TikTok that her spinal AVM was initially misdiagnosed by doctors as sciatica when she was 36 weeks pregnant.

The new mom claimed she'd never experienced any symptoms of her spinal abnormality until she became pregnant. — The new mom claimed she’d never experienced any symptoms of her spinal abnormality until she became pregnant.

A rarity, spinal AVM, or spinal arteriovenous malformation, is a tangle of blood vessels on, in or near the spinal cord. It’s an abnormality that typically develops in the fetus, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, and most people aren’t even aware that they suffer with the condition until it’s diagnose via X-rays, MRIs and CT scans. Without treatment, a spinal AVM can rupture, causing bleeding into surrounding areas.

In a separate video, Bear revealed that she was temporarily relegated to a wheelchair after undergoing an embolization — a procedure that uses tiny particles, such as tiny gelatin sponges or beads, to block a blood vessel — as well as AVM resection. During the resection, a neurosurgeon uses a microscope to delicately cut off its blood supply and ultimately remove it from the body.

“Spinal AVM resection is a scary procedure with a long and difficult recovery,” Bear penned in the caption of the clip, featuring footage of her in fighting back tears as she began learning how to walk again in physical therapy.

Online, Bear admitted to crying after her seeing herself in a wheelchair for the first time after undergoing surgery.

“As my physical therapist rolled that mirror in front of me, my heart sank, to my stomach and my eyes filled with tears,” she admitted. “It was the first time I saw myself in a wheelchair and leg braces after my 1 embolization and 2 surgeries to remove my spinal AVM.”

Bear confessed that being faced with the reality of her condition was nearly more than she could bear.

“Nothing prepares you for this moment where you see this new, broken version of yourself,” she said. “Not knowing if you will ever get back to the way you were before.”

“The fear that floods through your body can be debilitating, but you have to remain hopeful,” she encouraged.

Bear went on to share an additional post of herself in physical therapy, walking with the support of a Ekso GT, which she explained to be a “robotic exoskeleton used for over-ground gait training in people with a neurological diagnosis.”

Bear documented her road to recovery, which included robotic exoskeleton therapy treatments.

“It helps people re-learn the correct step patterns and weight shifts involved in walking,” she continued, in part.

“It was such an amazing feeling to take those steps.”

And digital audiences were, too, amazed by her inspiring recovery journey.

“God bless you Liz!!! You are so strong and kept going,” cheered a supportive commenter.

“Beautiful improvement. What a journey you’ve been working through & achieving! Keep going!” a separate cyber spectator chanted.

“Yes ma’am!! Praise God for restoring what was lost!” another raved.

Other commentators, however, blasted health care providers for often shrugging off pregnant women’s concerns as mere gestational pangs.

In the year since her diagnosis, Bear has regained the ability to walk sans external support.

She's shared footage of her walking with her daughter on social media. — She’s shared footage of her walking with her daughter on social media.

“So typical of doctors [and] nurses while pregnant. ANYTHING you raise with them ‘You’re pregnant, it’s normal,’ without even a second look,” rebuked a writer.

“I’m so scared of this,” said another. “I keep telling doctors that I’m struggling to walk and they’re like, ‘Oh it’s pregnancy.’ ”

“Doctor told me I was overreacting [to] the pain after having a baby,” another added. “I had endometrial cancer.”

But in response to her comments, Bear credited her obstetrician for helping her get the proper care that she needed.

“If it wasn’t for my amazing OB also advocating for me things could have turned out a lot worse,” Bear wrote. “She pushed for a neurological consult after I delivered.”

Elsewhere in the comments, she said, “I was completely shocked when I found out [about the spinal AVM].

“Never had any symptoms my whole life. Until pregnancy.”