A mother from Manchester says she repeatedly visited doctors for more than a year before her baby was finally diagnosed with brain damage. Ella Wilson has spoken of reaching a point where she felt “physically sick” looking at her son, so overwhelming was her sense of helplessness and frustration at being ignored by NHS staff.
The 23-year-old mum-of-three said her son Luke Clarke was born at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester following a life-threatening placental abruption on August 21, 2024, before his condition was stabilised and they were both discharged within a week.
Waiting for milestones
Over the following 14 months, Ella said she found herself “waiting for milestones” with Luke – such as playing with toys or speaking his first word – but he never reached them. Alongside these developmental delays, Ella noticed persistent “noisy breathing” and “constant” digestive difficulties, with Luke unable to tolerate solid foods.
As a result, the pair were “in and out” of appointments and hospital visits on numerous occasions, including three separate trips to Salford Royal Hospital over as many days from October 8, 2025. Luke was then blue-lighted to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for five days from October 10, before an MRI scan was finally carried out.
On October 20, Ella received the news that Luke had a condition called periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a type of brain injury where the white matter surrounding the brain’s fluid-filled ventricles is damaged by a lack of blood flow and oxygen. The likely cause in Luke’s case is the placental abruption Ella experienced at his birth, according to medical notes, meaning it took more than a year to get Luke’s diagnosis.
“I had no choice but to shout for him”
Ella said: “(Luke has) missed out on opportunities of therapists for over a year, when he could have had it a lot sooner. I was his voice and I was saying something was wrong, but he couldn't tell me because he was too young and he's non-verbal. So I had no choice but to shout for him. (Doctors) just need to start listening and they need to take mothers' instincts very seriously because it's very real.”
Ella said she was “shocked” to find out she was pregnant at the end of 2023 because she had a contraceptive implant at the time. Despite needing extra growth scans – something she had with her two other healthy children, Brodan and Bonnie-Rae, born in 2018 and 2022 – Ella said her pregnancy was “fine until labour”.
Ella said she felt “some aches and pains” on August 20 2024, but it was not until she woke up the next day at 7am that she realised her contractions were two minutes apart. She had to drive herself to St Mary’s Hospital with her two children in the back of the car, and by the time she arrived, her waters had already broken and she was nine centimetres dilated.
“Every time I looked at him, I felt sick”
After Ella was admitted, she remembered doctors said her “baby was struggling” because of a placental abruption and that she needed an emergency Caesarean section. However, Ella ended up having a vaginal birth, as Luke was arriving by the time she was wheeled into theatre.
Ella said Luke got “taken away” to the neonatal intensive care unit and given oxygen via a CPAP machine, before he was treated for “suspected sepsis” for five days. “I wasn't really told much,” Ella said. “I wasn't able to see him, so the nurse took a photo of him on my phone to show me.”
When Ella was allowed to see Luke, she said he had “loads of wires all over him”, including a feeding tube. After Luke’s condition stabilised, Ella was able to take her newborn home after less than a week. Within “a couple” of months, Ella said she noticed Luke developed “constant loud breathing” that “sounded chesty” but Luke “wasn't poorly”.
“I just had a feeling something wasn't right,” Ella said. “Every time I looked at him, I felt sick. Normally, you're enjoying your baby and you're waiting for milestones and you're in your little baby bubble. But I was looking at my son and feeling physically sick.”
Over the next 14 months, Ella said Luke saw health visitors, ENT doctors and he was “in and out of hospital” because of developmental delays, differences in social communication and interaction, breathing difficulties and digestion issues.
Ella said: “It was just constant, but (a doctor at Springfield Medical Centre) was like, 'Luke's having bottles and he's having wet nappies so he's fine'. But something was wrong. I don't know what it was, but something was telling me he needed scans, blood tests, MRIs, everything. I've never had that feeling before, but I just knew I was right.”
On October 10 2025, after going to Salford Royal Hospital’s A&E on the two consecutive days beforehand but being sent home, Ella said she called an ambulance because her son “went purple, started drooling and really struggled to breathe”. It was during this Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital admission for five days that Ella advocated for her son to have an MRI.
Diagnosis and ongoing support
Luke had his MRI scan on October 15, before he and Ella were sent home to wait for the results. By October 20, Ella said she received a four-minute call, where Luke was diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia, aged 14 months. She said: “I remember coming off the phone and I just cried. Not because of the result, but because I knew I was right all along.”
Following her son’s PVL diagnosis, Ella said Luke has had “appointment after appointment” because doctors had “concerns for development” so he has received regular support from a dietitian, a play specialist and communication development worker. He has since been diagnosed with global developmental delay, gastroesophageal reflux, a cow’s milk protein allergy and a consideration for autism spectrum disorder “in due course”, according to his medical notes.
Two years on from Luke’s placental abruption at birth, Ella said her son is still non-verbal and he “doesn't play with toys” but he is “the happiest baby” she has ever known. “He's really content,” she said. “He loves watching Bluey over and over again. And he loves walking ... so he'll go in and out of the garden.”
Ella is planning to climb Mount Snowdon – alongside another family whose son, Ralphie Ray, two, is affected by the condition – to help raise money for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. She said: “It's more about shouting about PVL and making people aware of it than climbing the mountain, because that's what our boys do every single day.”
Dr Rafik Bedair, chief medical officer at the Northern Care Alliance, which runs Salford Royal, told PA Real Life: “It is always disappointing to learn when someone is unhappy with the care or treatment they have received. Patients and their families should be able to expect the highest standards of safe and effective care, and we take any concerns raised about our services very seriously. We would always encourage anyone who is unhappy about their experience at the NCA to contact us so we can look into their concerns properly and understand where improvements can be made.”
Springfield Surgery said it could not comment because of patient confidentiality requirements. To donate to Ella’s fundraiser, visit her GoFundMe page.
