Amy Vulcz diagnosed with MND motor neurone disease months after giving birth to second daughter

The life of a pregnant mother was thrown into chaos after she suffered from motor neurone disease, just as she was expecting the birth of her second child.

Amy Vulcz and her partner Simon welcomed their baby daughter, Georgia, in May before the family’s plans were devastated by the shock of the diagnosis.

The mom-to-be had suffered from a variety of strange symptoms in the nine months leading up to the birth, but Ms. Vulcz had she shrugged as if they were only related to the pregnancy.

But telltale signs, such as a change in his walking gait, causing him to have regular falls, along with severe cramps and leg spasms, were early symptoms of the onset of the debilitating condition.

And a week after giving birth, Ms. Vulcz had trouble doing even simple tasks like using cutlery to cut meals, along with a sharp decline in her overall strength.

Amy Vulcz, a mother of two (pictured), received a dire diagnosis of motor neurone disease after originally ruling out motor problems as symptoms of pregnancy.

Over the course of her pregnancy, the mother-of-two suffered from motor problems that she shrugged off as standard pregnancy symptoms. She started with a change in her walking gait, which caused her to have regular falls and experienced severe cramps and spasms in her legs.

Initially, she dismissed the worrisome signs, but when her one-year-old Hannah hit her, she knew something was seriously wrong.

In the weeks that followed, he underwent MRIs of his brain and spine, nerve conduction tests, a spinal tap, and numerous blood tests, spending a week in the hospital for more tests.

Less than three months after giving birth, the 27-year-old was finally diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MDD), a progressive degeneration of the nerve cells that control muscles.

A GoFundMe The account has been set up by her best friend Jess Arnott, who has raised over $50,000.

The disease has now left her unable to do ‘simple daily tasks like showering and dressing’, the fundraising appeal revealed.

Cannot eat without difficulty. He can’t drive and needs a walker to get around the house and a wheelchair when there are a lot of people and he travels long distances,” the page says.

‘Amy can’t even pick up her kids anymore. Nothing is the same as six months ago.

Ms Vulcz, who lives on the south coast of Victoria, said 7News that when he was diagnosed with the disease he had no idea what it was.

“The problem is that it affects everyone so differently that there’s no exact structure needed, so for some people it affects their speech first,” Ms Vulcz said.

“I’m lucky right now that I can still talk, I can still eat, I can do all of those things myself, where sometimes that’s what happens first for people.”

It really makes you pretty useless in your own body, it’s terrible.

The disease primarily affects men between the ages of 50 and 70, making the mother-of-two’s diagnosis all the more shocking.

“Everyone was shocked, there’s no one in our family who has any kind of life-changing or muscular neuropathy,” Ms Vulcz said.

‘It’s unbelievable, no one knows what to say. They come together and try to figure out what needs to be done.

A GoFundMe page has been created to support Ms. Vulcz’s ongoing treatment. The fundraiser has raised over $50,000

Following her diagnosis, the 27-year-old underwent treatment and has seen slight improvement.

But her treatment is hampered by breastfeeding her newborn daughter, preventing her from using Australia’s only approved drug for the condition.

In the wake of the grim diagnosis, she and her partner Simon moved up their marriage plans and tied the knot earlier this month.

The GoFundMe page indicates that the funds raised will go towards his continued care and treatment.

“All Amy wanted her entire life was to be a mother,” the GoFundMe page says.

“Her diagnosis means this has been tragically taken from her, and she and her family must look forward to a new, complex and very different way of life.

Unfortunately, there will come a day when Simon will have to stop working to take care of Amy.

“When this happens, the family will require crucial financial support to be able to pay for basic daily needs.”