A woman 'left trapped in her own body' after a brain tumour burst has vowed to return home to be with the baby girl she had while in a coma. Heavily-pregnant Emma Taylor, 33, was placed in an induced coma before giving birth to daughter Ophelia by emergency caesarean in October last year.
She emerged from it three months later, but is still in an NHS rehab centre after surgery to remove a burst tumour which caused her paralysis. Six months on, Emma, who can't yet talk and communicates by head and hand movements, has vowed to get better for her baby daughter.
Doctors decided to deliver her daughter, Ophelia, six weeks early so they could safely carry out scans on dental hygienist Emma. Through surgery, they removed two thirds of the tumour, and she is recovering well - but limited NHS facilities will see her moved to a low intensity rehab centre. As a result, her partner, Ophelia's father Scott Weeks, 47, has started a GoFundMe to fund pay for treatment.
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 - she's showed she's determined to get better for our daughter."
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.
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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 air lifted to Queens Hospital in Romford where surgeons successfully removed two thirds of the 60mm tumour.
She was still in a coma for the surgery 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's been recovering for three months - but the NHS has now deemed her lower priority. A reduction in rehabilitation therapy will slow her progress and Scott is afraid of the effects this could have on her recovery time. He's therefore started a GoFundMe in a bid to raise the money for private treatment which he hopes will get Emma talking and walking again - and back to their daughter.
Scott, who has 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%.
"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 will be moved into a lower intensity rehab programme, which I fear will impact 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. Any donations would mean the world to us."
