A newly-wed Glasgow mum has been left stranded in a Portuguese hospital after she had a stroke in her sleep while on a weekend break with her husband. Shereen Lafferty, 37, woke up during her holiday in Faro on Sunday September 20 unable to speak and with her right side "paralysed", her sister-in-law has said.
Condition improving but speech therapy unavailable
The mum-of-one, who married husband Robert in March, spent around five days in intensive care in the Faro hospital this week, and her condition has since improved. Sister-in-law Apryll, 32, says Shereen has taken a few steps but is still unable to talk, and she can't receive speech therapy in English while she remains in Portugal.
Apryll told Glasgow Live: "It was a complete shock. I was devastated to be honest. Shereen is such a nice person. She's the type of person that helps everybody and goes above and beyond."
Family launches fundraiser for medical flight
Doctors have advised that Shereen, from Provan Hall in the east end of Glasgow, will remain in the hospital for at least two more weeks before she can be transferred on a medically assisted flight home, which will cost the family as much as £25,000. Apryll has launched a GoFundMe to help raise the money needed to get Shereen home safe.
Apryll added that her brother Robert, 36, has been "trying to stay positive" and has been issuing regular updates to the family on his new wife's condition. She said: "He's saying that she will be fine as long as she can keep making progress, and that things are going in a positive direction for her. The doctors confirmed that it had been a stroke through the night, estimating it had happened between midnight and 7am."
Daughter sheltered from full details
The family have decided to shelter nine-year-old daughter Aria, who is currently staying at Shereen's mum's, from the full details of why her parents haven't returned home from their holiday. Apryll said: "She's obviously quite upset at her mum being away. She's used to having her mum all the time, so she'll be devastated about the fact that she's not with her right now."
The concerned family member added that the most important thing at the moment is to get Shereen home to her family. She said: "It's hard being so far from home without everyone being able to help out and share the load of visits and the emotional stress. I'm just hoping that we can keep going in [a positive] direction and that we can get her home as soon as possible."
