A schoolgirl has been left paralysed below the neck after catching the flu. Lexi Brown, 14, fell ill in December last year with a temperature and dizziness – but rang her mother a few days later screaming in pain. The GCSE student, from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, was rushed to hospital after receiving CPR, where she was put in an induced coma. Doctors now suspect she suffered a spinal stroke which was triggered by a bout of flu.
When she awoke, Lexi was unable to walk, talk or breathe unaided – and has since been in hospital using a ventilator. Her mother, Stacy Grantham, 33, described the teenager, now 15, as 'healthy and active' and a 'passionate singer'.
Mother Recalls Ordeal
Recalling the ordeal, Ms Grantham said: 'She phoned me, screaming in pain. You know when you hear a certain scream, and you just know it's something serious? It was that.' Ms Grantham said her daughter felt she had 'lost everything she loves' and 'cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel'. She added: 'It's something no mum ever wants to see or hear, but we're trying to stay positive for her.'
By the time Ms Grantham had rushed home after receiving her daughter's call, paramedics and air ambulance crew had arrived and were resuscitating Lexi. She was put into a 'neuroprotective' coma at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge until medics could figure out the problem. Five days later, Lexi woke up and was told she had suffered a stroke in her spinal cord.
Diagnosis and Recovery
Ms Grantham, who is raising money on GoFundMe to help fund Lexi's ongoing treatment, said: 'You picture a stroke as an older person, you don't think it can happen to a healthy 14 year old. They never found a cause – the only thing they can go on is that she had the flu, but she had no underlying conditions. When she woke, she was paralysed from the neck down and we were told she'd have no movement again, and be ventilated for the rest of her life.'
Lexi is now going through intensive physiotherapy in the hopes her muscle strength might be regained. She can talk through a tracheostomy tube and uses a ventilator to breathe at night, but is now growing strong enough to breathe for herself during the day. The teenager has also regained some movement in her limbs but is unable to use them for 'functional things' such as feeding herself and pushing her own wheelchair.
Family Support
Ms Grantham said: 'She can now talk as she would before, but her voice is huskier and she has an uncomfortable tube in her neck. She was an avid singer and her voice has been taken away, that's been devastating for her.' The family said they had seen positive signs over time that Lexi would be able to regain movement as muscles 'wake back up' with strength training and rehabilitation. But Ms Grantham said: 'It's so difficult, because the progress is so small. She sat up by herself for 30 seconds the other day, which is huge because we were told she wouldn't be able to do that.'
Lexi is regularly visited by her mother, her father Craig Brown, 37, stepmother Lou Baird-Brown, 33, and brothers Jake Brown, 12, and Theo Brown, one. However, she is unable to return to her family home as the property is rented, making wheelchair-friendly adaptations difficult. The family have now joined the local council housing register to stay in a suitable place for Lexi when she is discharged, with support from carers.
Fundraiser and Hope
They have launched a fundraiser to help with the costs of travel, private physio and other needs. Ms Grantham said: 'I don't think there is anything that could have been done for Lexi – there were no warning signs. It's what we do now, how everyone is coming together to support Lexi. It's not over anytime soon and we're living in a state of survival – it's a confronting thing, but we're trying to stay positive. But I'll forever tell people that Lexi was home alone, and saved her own life by calling me for help. She wouldn't be here today otherwise.'
