Young mum paralysed by stroke while nine weeks pregnant
A loving mum has been left paralysed from the waist down after she suffered a severe spinal stroke at nine weeks pregnant.
It’s a tra ge dy u n i m a g i - nable to most parents, but for Ashleigh Turner and her family it is the devastating reality.
N o w, at a t i m e w h i c h should bring such joy following the birth of their baby boy Jacob Joyce, Ashleigh and partner Stephen Joyc e a re s t i l l c o m i n g to terms with the heartbreaking diagnosis and are struggling to make ends meet as the 26-year-old mum now needs round-the-clock care.
O n B o x i n g D ay, 2 0 1 9 , Stephen was at work when h e d i s c ove re d a f lu r r y o f missed calls from Ashleigh. Calling back he found the mum in ‘hysterics’ saying she was unable to move and couldn’t feel her body.
She was rushed to hospital and doctors discovered that Ashleigh, who lives in Thorney Close, had suffered a spinal stroke – so rare they account for just 1.25% of all strokes.
Ashleigh, th en 25, was nine weeks pregnant and had been complaining of pain in her back for a numb e r o f we e k s b e fo re th e stroke, which forced her to pull out of the Great North Run.
The expecting mum spent the next seven months in hospital, through the peak of the pandemic, a n d wa s o n l y d i s c h a rge d
at the end of July after the birth of their healthy baby boy Jacob Joyce, who is now seven weeks old.
On her last day in hospital, the couple, who have h ad to c a n c e l th e i r 2 02 1 wedding, received the devastating blow that the paralysis is ‘probably permanent’.
A s h l ei g h , wh o wo rke d as a sales assistant at Flying Tiger, has no movement below her waist and, although she can move her arms and w r i s t s , s h e d o e s n’ t h ave
control of her fingers and hands – meaning she needs to be supervised while holding her own newborn baby.
Ashleigh said: “It’s just ripped my independence away and affected my mental health.
"My daughter, Paige, has really found it hard to come to terms with the fact I can’t walk, do fun things or have days out like we used to.
Stephen added: “She puts on a brave face but it is devastating.
"S h e wa s a n outgo i n g
mam. She was really hands on with the kids and now she’s spending the majority of her time in bed or in a wheelchair.
“Ashleigh gets really bad spasms in her legs and the hospital were quite lenient during the pandemic letting us come in to support her.”
Now Stephen has had to leave his job to care for Ashleigh, baby Jacob and two other children – Ashleigh’s daughter Paige, aged seven, and Stephen’s son two-yearold Luca.
The family has been coping on a small amount of carers’ allowa nce each week and, having used all th e i r s av i n g s a n d m o n e y set aside for Christmas on bills, are struggling to make ends meet and pay for the expensive equipment Ashleigh needs.
Friend Keira Ramshaw, captain of Sunderland AFC Ladies, has set up a Go Fund M e pa ge h o pi n g to ra i s e £1,000 to ‘help take a little stress and worry away from this loving family’.