A woman left paralysed and unable to talk after giving birth has been given a new device - allowing her to communicate with her family. Heavily-pregnant Emma Taylor, 33, was placed in an induced coma after a brain tumour burst before giving birth to daughter Ophelia by emergency caesarean.
Just two days later she had an operation to remove the brain tumour but remained in a coma for another three months. Today, seven months on, she it is still in an NHS rehab centre.
Up until now, dental hygienist Emma, has only been able to communicate by head and hand movements. But last week she was delivered a communication device where she can click letters with the movement she has in her thumb.
As a result, her partner, and Ophelia's father, Scott Weeks, 47, will be able to have proper conversation again. Scott, from Chelmsford, Essex, said: "Emma was recovering really well in rehab, but due to a lack of beds she's been moved to a less intense programme.
"She can't talk yet, but she can communicate with her hands and head movements - and this new clicking device will be a massive help." Emma collapsed on the evening of October 30 after complaining of a headache earlier in the day.
She was seven and a half months pregnant at the time, leaving Scott extremely worried for the welfare of both her and their unborn baby. While helping her, he noticed the left side of her body was lifeless and her right eye was half open and half closed.
Scott called 999, but was told to expect a four hour wait for an ambulance, so he drove Emma to Broomfield Hospital himself. Shortly after, doctors decided to deliver Ophelia via C-section so they could carry out scans without affecting the baby.
After birth, scans revealed Emma had been living with a non-cancerous brain tumour, likely since she was born. Scott, who works in sales and marketing, said: "I knew she hadn't been feeling well, and while I was downstairs she fell out the bed and was sick on the floor.
"I called an ambulance, but they couldn't get to us fast enough, so I decided to drive Emma myself. It's lucky I did, because doctors said if I had waited four hours, there would have been a very different outcome.
"They needed to carry out scans on Emma, but to do that safely, they delivered Ophelia first. The scans then showed a huge tumour she'd been living with which had burst after pregnancy hormones accelerated its growth
"This caused a bleed on the brain, and as a result, her right brain stem and right eye were affected - leaving her left side paralysed." Ophelia was born six weeks premature, but without any complications.
After the C-section, Emma was airlifted to Queens Hospital in Romford where surgeons successfully removed two thirds of the 60mm tumour. For the surgery, she was still in a coma, and didn't show any signs of consciousness for three months.
But at the end of January, Emma started to show cyclical consciousness. She was then transferred to Northwick Park rehab unit, where she recovered for three months - but the NHS deemed her lower priority.
Emma has since been moved to a different rehabilitation centre and put on a reduced rehab programme - despite Scott's protests. But, last week, she was delivered a communication device where she can scan rows of letters and click individual buttons with the movement she has in her thumb.
It's a welcome bit of kit for Emma who Scott says has been becoming increasingly frustrated "trapped in her own body". Scott, who's been in a relationship with Emma for two and a half years, said: "The operation was successful but she's been left with some long term impediments.
"From where the tumour burst, she is pretty much blind in her right eye, and the movement on her left side is expected be limited to about 75 percent. She's at the stage where she can communicate with head movements and her hands, we've even had a few tears.
"Although NHS staff have been amazing, due to a lack of beds, she was moved into a lower intensity rehab programme, which has impacted her progress. I'm trying to get the money together so she can get the best treatment - I can tell how frustrated she is.
"She's trapped in her own body - and I know all that she wants is to come home to her baby."
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