A “healthy” 31-year-old man is relearning to walk and talk after suffering a sudden brain haemorrhage that left him in a coma for six days.
Philip Masey, a mortgage advisor and keen golfer, collapsed at his Kidderminster home in February.
His mother, Charlotte Mannouris, discovered him unconscious hours later and immediately called for an ambulance.
A scan revealed a significant bleed on Mr Masey's brain, necessitating emergency surgery. Doctors removed a portion of his skull to alleviate pressure and placed him in an induced coma.
Ms Mannouris was warned her son might never regain his speech or ability to work.
Six days later, Mr Masey awoke confused and unable to form coherent sentences or consume solid food.
However, recent weeks have brought encouraging progress. He can now speak a few words and, with assistance, take a few steps.
Mr Masey is now recuperating at home under the care of his mother and loved ones, and Ms Mannouris has launched a GoFundMe page to make adaptations to the home and to pay for additional physiotherapy sessions – but she said there is only a “slim chance” he will make a full recovery.
“Philip would say live life to the full because you just don’t know how your life is going to change overnight,” Ms Mannouris, who works in financial services, said.
“He wasn’t someone who abused his body, he was a very healthy, fit man and he’s too young to lose the best years of his life.
“This could have happened to anybody, it was so sudden, so random and completely spontaneous – there was no preparation for it and no warning signs to look out for.”
After waking up from the coma on February 14, Ms Mannouris said he was “confused” and “in and out of sleep” but after a while, he started to recognise one or two people coming to visit him.
He was first fed through a tube before being weaned onto soft food and now, he can eat as normal.
For his speech, movement and cognition, however, there is still a long way to go.
“He can say quite a lot of standard phrases like ‘yes please’ and ‘no, thank you’, but anything else comes out mixed up and indecipherable and I have to try and guess what he means,” Ms Mannouris said.
“He’s taking a couple of steps now, he’s in a wheelchair but he can stand up with help.”
At present, Ms Mannouris said there is a “slim chance” her son will make a full recovery.
“They’ve said he’ll walk, but whether he is fit and running like he used to, I don’t know,” she said.
On March 21, Mr Masey was relocated to Evesham Community Hospital to rehabilitate, where he spent four weeks undergoing physiotherapy and speech therapy.
Since April 18, he has been able to return home to continue his recovery under the full-time care of his mother and family.
Ms Mannouris has launched a GoFundMe page to help her make adaptions to the house, such as putting in a wet room, and to pay for additional physiotherapy and speech therapy sessions, raising more than £13,000.
“The NHS care has been very good but we need to top it up with private help,” she said.
“It needs to be quite intense to give him the best chance to recover and he will probably need it for a couple of years.”
To find out more, visit the fundraiser for Mr Masey here.
