A mum-of-three has revealed how she was left paralysed while on a second date with a Tinder match – but his reaction proved he was ‘the one’.
As Sadie Dane lay in bed with her new beau, Greg, she couldn’t be happier.
But there was just one issue: a niggling pain at the top of her back that wouldn’t budge.
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Since it was only their second date, the 40-year-old didn’t want to make a fuss and send the 50-year-old teacher running.
So she sucked it up – until it became too excruciating to bear.
And, within hours, the mum-of-three was totally paralysed.
Despite her declining health, there was only one thing on her mind, though: would Greg stand the test of true love?
“He could’ve easily scarpered when I’d fallen ill,” the business owner, from Kent, told Need To Know.
“Instead, he stuck by my side, thinking of ways to raise my spirits – even when he didn’t have much time in his day spare.
“I’d given birth three times and had countless tattoos; so I knew real pain.
“And this was so much worse.
“Since it was only our second date when it started, I didn’t want to freak him out, so I let him drift off.
“But I couldn’t bear it any longer.
“I woke him up and said I was dying.”
Sadie had been swiping through Tinder in April 2025 when she came across Greg’s profile.
His thick dark hair and ‘sexy’ stubble, as well as tattoos, caught her attention immediately.
After back-and-forth messaging and a whirlwind first date, Sadie made the near two-hour journey to his mum’s house in Brighton, where he was living at the time.
And luckily for Sadie, this ultimately saved her life, as Greg’s mum is a nurse – and knew instantly what was going on.
She said: “My right arm went numb and the pain only intensified.
“The only slight relief I could get was by curling into the foetal position.
“As he had to get back to his kids, his mum took me to the hospital – which wasn’t the way I thought I’d be getting to know her.
“But she couldn’t have been nicer, and wouldn’t leave my side.”
Morphine was administered, and an MRI scan was performed.
It was found that Sadie had two bulging discs at the top of her spine, which were pressing on her nerves.
Then, she was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the open space in the spine, which puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves.
Unclear how long she’d spend in hospital, and with no clear solution, Sadie’s spirits were only lifted by Greg, who visited her multiple times a week.
From bars of chocolate to KFC and flowers, the mum was quickly falling for him – and hard.
But the real test came when Sadie was offered surgery, with a high risk of paralysis.
She said: “I didn’t care anymore; I just wanted relief.
“Greg told me he loved me and said he’d be there when I woke up.
“He kept his promise.
“Despite only knowing each other for a few weeks, he had become my rock.
“I was convinced I’d found my soulmate.”
Sadie’s surgery involved slicing through her throat, moving her windpipe and removing the discs, replacing them with titanium ones.
After being discharged, Greg still held up his promise and continued to make the four-hour round trip several times a week.
Now, although she’s not out of the woods yet, she’s able to move her right arm and has re-learned how to walk again.
However, it’s likely her condition will only worsen since there’s no cure.
Despite this, she and Greg have taken things to the next level.
The pair are due to move to Cyprus with their respective kids and a proposal is potentially on the horizon.
She added: “I feel like it was fate that he came into my life when he did.
“While I’m so thankful to the nurses and doctors who have helped me, I think it’s safe to say that love really is the best medicine.”
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