Locked-in syndrome is an uncommon condition where a person is not able to communicate verbally or move apart from eye movement which can be used for coded communication however they're concious and aware of their surroundings. It's a full paralysis of most the muscles in the body. in some cases also are the eyes are paralyzed. There are no treatments currently for locked-in syndrome neither are there any cures. It's apparently rare for anyone to regain any vital functions.
My name is Kimberley wells, I'm 18 years old. On the 1st of December, my father, Clive Wells suffered a severe stroke from which he got submited to Charing Cross hospital. The stroke led to him being put into a coma with bleeding on the brain. Me and my family got told by the doctors that they thought it was unlikely he'd pull through, his chances were rated 3/10. However the next day he had woken up and was briefly responding to touch. As each day passed he was making more and more progress, he also had an eye infection and a chest infection. By the time the 10th of December (my birthday) Had come, he was able to breathe on his own. My sister managed to get some communication going with eye movement. Eyes up for yes eyes down for no, at first it only worked with her until he eventually communicated with the nurses. He was moved out of ICU and put into a ward where his communication went down hill with the nurses. Examinations and scans had been done on him when we got a call from the hospital saying he had Locked-In syndrome. We all got to the hospital and agreed no one was giving up on him. That day he got moved again to the stroke ward, he had his own room to himself and after a few days he was communicating with nurses and doctors. Around a week after this he was moved to West Middlesex hospital in his own room once again which is where he is currently.
At this stage we know he can read some words, he can spell our names out using a communication system which we found on another blog, which allows him to choose words and spell out various words. He has been able to do various sums and calculations. He responds well with his eye movements also, he's getting more and more movement around his mouth, he is still unable to speak however speech therapists are seeing him 2 times a day. He's also been atempting to smile. We think he may be trying to speak at times as well. He still likes listening to music and seeing photo's from the past which we think could be helping him. Atleast one person from our family has seen him everyday since.
The reason I'm writing this is so anyone else who's going through what we are can read from our story and use it to help theres. There isn't many people who have this condition so we hear. I think as long as as many people as possible blog about this condition and explain how they progress through it with themselves or loved ones. We can help other people and give them hope. I read many other stories on people who have got atleast speech back or movements in their hands which truth be told has got me and my family through this reading stories from others experiences and using it to help us. Now we want to do the same for others.
Our father is a very strong man. We pray for him every day that passes. He's been our rock through-out our whole lives and has always given us strength. Now we have to be his strength. We'll do anything in our power to get him atleast the slightest bit better. He's the most amazing man alive, he truely is our hero. We know he can do this.
