Mum-of-four left paralysed from eyes down and breathing through a ventilator after Covid-19 battle

She hasn’t been home from hospital since developing symptoms on Christmas day
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A mum-of-four has been left paralysed from the eyes down and breathing through a ventilator after Covid-19 affected her brain stem.

Ayesha Hussain, 55, from Cambridge developed symptoms on Christmas Day and soon afterwards was taken to hospital to be put on a ventilator.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She has been in hospital for more than 100 days and has a grandchild who was born recently that she has never met.

Mum-of-four left paralysed from eyes down and breathing through a ventilator after Covid-19 battle (Photos: SWNS)Mum-of-four left paralysed from eyes down and breathing through a ventilator after Covid-19 battle (Photos: SWNS)
Mum-of-four left paralysed from eyes down and breathing through a ventilator after Covid-19 battle (Photos: SWNS)

Mrs Hussain was "fine and fit" before being struck down with Covid, according to her daughter, Amina Bux, 30.

But within two months a biopsy revealed that the virus had affected her brain stem, killing off many of her peripheral nerves and leaving her paralysed from the eyes down.

‘Absolutely horrific’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Now, Ms Bux said that doctors have discussed with her the possibility of ending her mum's life.

She said: "That was absolutely horrific to hear. It was really horrible.

"I am my mum's voice now, and I know that she is not ready to go yet. If my mum was ready to go, she would let go.

"At the moment she is conscious and we know she can hear us and understand us, because if we tell her to move her eyes up or down or to the left or right, she does.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I said to the doctors that they are absolutely not to turn off that ventilator.

"They don't know yet whether she could get stronger and make some sort of recovery.

"Until they give me a definitive answer on that, I will keep hoping and praying that something will fall into place."

Ms Bux said she has joined a number of Covid support groups, to see if anyone else has gone through a similar ordeal to her mum, but so far hasn’t come across anyone.

‘I want her to be able to come home’

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She is hoping to bring her mum home and to care for her herself.

Ms Bux has also set up a JustGiving page to help raise funds for her mum's ongoing recovery.

She said: "It doesn't matter to me if she's going to be disabled, or never going to walk again. I just want to give her the best life for the time she has left.

"I want her to be able to come home and spend time with her family, with her grandchildren.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"My sister had a baby two days before mum went into hospital, so she has a grandchild she hasn't even met yet. We just want to do the best for our mum."

Both Mrs Hussain and her daughter fell ill with Covid on Christmas Day, but while Ms Bux began to recover, her mother’s condition worsened.

She said: "We both had it really badly. But while I started to get better, my mum didn't.

"I called the paramedics out on December 29 to check on her, and they wanted to take her into hospital as they were concerned.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Then, two days later, they put her on a ventilator. It was so scary. I prayed and prayed that she would come back, but she just hasn't since."

‘We will keep fighting for her’

Ms Bux added that at the end of January, her mum's heart stopped for two minutes.

She said: "I can't even describe how I felt when I got that call. It felt like my own heart stopped.

"One minute everything was fine and she was breathing okay with the ventilator, and the next everything just shut down.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"After that, they did the biopsy and found that the Covid had made its way into her brain stem."

She added: "Now, I feel like her heart has stopped once before but she's fought through it, so I know she's not ready to go yet. She's a fighter.

"We will keep fighting for her."

Read more:

Related topics: