The family of a "beautiful" law student have said she "would have died" if she had fallen asleep while watching a film.
Emily Mcarther, 21, from Pennington in Leigh, was at her student accommodation in Liverpool City Centre on May 3, 2023, watching a film with her friend, Alex. Her friend turned to her and saw Emily's face had dropped on one side and she was unable to walk.
Alex called 999 before picking Emily up and taking her to the bottom of the stairs to open the door for paramedics. Emily was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital before being transferred to The Walton Centre due to her having an AVM [Brain Arteriovenous Malformation], a rare condition which occurs in less than 1% of the population.
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Emily's auntie, Ann Wainwright, 57, told The ECHO how she was studying Law at the University of Liverpool at the time of the incident.
She said: "It came out of nowhere and has changed her life forever. The doctors said it's an AVM which you can be born with it and can never affect you or something can set it off.
"We're lucky Emily was awake because if she had gone to sleep that night she would have died. When she first arrived at The Walton Centre she was okay and they didn't have any major issues.
"But at 11pm her mum [Alison Golding] went home and I left the room to go to the toilet. By the time I came back they told me she has gone straight for a scan and into theatre."
During an intense surgery Emily had half of her skull removed to relieve pressure that built up on her brain.
Ann said: "We were told she might not survive the operation as it's a dangerous procedure. I remember thinking 'nothing can happen to Emily because I don't know what Alison will do'.
"We didn't hear that she had made it until 5am. After she came out of surgery they said they needed to test for brain activity.
"They said there was a bit of something there but they didn't think it was enough. The next day Emily's eye moved, and the day after hand moved.
"Against all odds she is in the ICU, awake, and still has her personality. The doctors say they are staggered when they see Emily's progress.
"It's been like a rollercoaster for us, and it's not over yet as she may need another operation."
Emily, who loves music and was described as "beautiful" by her family, is fed by a tube and was initially unable speak or breathe unassisted. She now speaks to her family on a whiteboard and is "desperate" to communicate and get back to university.
Her family are now trying to get her tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert at Anfield after she heard from some of the nurses on the ward that she's coming to Liverpool.
Ann said: "Emily asked her mum if she could have tickets and she said yes, not knowing how crazy it would be to get them. She got in touch with Anfield to ask about accessible tickets and was told the only people who could get accessible tickets at the moment were people who were already season ticket holders.
"Any remaining tickets would go on general sale. This means we're very unlikely to get them but we know this incredible young lady needs just something like this to hold onto while she continues her fight.
"We don't want freebies and are happy to buy tickets, we just want to give her some joy. We don't know what's going to happen next and just want her to have everything the can."
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