Overview
- On December 16 the previously healthy 14-year-old rang her mother in severe pain, stopped breathing before emergency crews arrived, received CPR and was airlifted to hospital where doctors placed her in a five-day neuroprotective (induced) coma and later diagnosed a spinal cord stroke.
- She has stayed in hospital for more than five months and currently uses a tracheostomy with overnight ventilator support while undergoing intensive physiotherapy and showing small gains such as brief independent breathing, limited limb movement and short periods of sitting.
- Clinicians have not identified a clear cause for the stroke and say the only plausible link is a recent bout of flu, although that connection has not been proven.
- The family cannot adapt their rented home for wheelchair access, have joined the local council housing list, and are fundraising to cover travel, private therapy and other costs they expect to need after discharge.
- Spinal cord strokes are rare in children, recovery is slow and uncertain, and the case highlights the long-term planning and specialist rehabilitation many families must secure after sudden, unexplained neurological injury.