DONEGAL — Singer Lisa McHugh returned to the stage in Donegal for the first time in more than a year following treatment for functional neurological disorder and sepsis. McHugh had postponed an earlier planned comeback, which had been scheduled alongside Nathan Carter in Donegal, after she contracted sepsis.

McHugh described the year as the most difficult her family had experienced. "It was an incredibly tough few months for me and my family," she said. "It is the hardest year we've ever had but at the same time, we are out the other side and it could definitely have been so much worse."

She performed despite spending most of the preceding week in bed, then lost movement in both legs within hours of leaving the stage. Her mother took her to A&E, where doctors administered stroke tests. Within two to three hours, McHugh lost movement in both her left and right legs. She was subsequently admitted to a hospital ward when her symptoms did not improve.

Medical tests including MRIs, blood tests and CT scans all returned normal results. McHugh received multiple painkillers as medical staff worked to manage her facial and head pain and identify the cause of her escalating symptoms.

"It all happened so quickly and I was in so much pain I didn't really think about it too much, I just wanted them to get on top of the pain and to try and get some answers," McHugh said. "They put me to a ward and I knew as the days went on and symptoms weren't improving that was when it began to sink in that they didn't really know what was going on."