Ayuub Al-Asad, 15, from Rochdale, felt pains in his stomach as well as pins and needles and within 24 hours he was paralysed from the neck down and ventilated in hospital
A schoolboy was left paralysed from the neck down and hooked up to a ventilator in hospital just 24 hours after experiencing sharp stomach pains.
Ayuub Al-Asad, from Rochdale, first felt the pains on March 19 this year and as his symptoms worsened, he began to feel pins and needles in his legs which soon became heavy and numb. Eventually, he couldn’t move his legs at all and collapsed on the living room floor.
His mum, Hena, rushed him to A&E immediately and by 8am the next day Ayuub was on oxygen and transferred to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital where he was sedated and ventilated in the Intensive Care Unit for three months. He was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis, a condition affecting the spinal cord.
The illness left him paralysed from the neck down, his bladder and bowel stopped working and his diaphragm was paralysed on the left side, causing his left lung to collapse, reports the Manchester Evening News. Mum Hena said: “He’s crying out in pain and he’s like, ‘My arms are burning. My arms feel like they’re on fire. They’re burning. It’s burning’.
Everything has changed for him, still to this point. He’ll say to me, ‘mum, all I want to do is walk. I just want my legs to move and I want to walk’. “It was just the worst time possible, just to see him go through that.
“The things we’ve gone through, it’s been traumatic. It’s been devastating because his world has changed.”
“As a family we hope to get back home and start life again as a family together. We have missed being together since it all happened. We also hope to raise awareness about this devastating condition for other families to be aware of the signs and symptoms and how to get the support and help needed from Spinal Injuries Association and other charities.”
In May, Ayuub had a tracheostomy to help him breathe while his diaphragm was not functioning. He remained on a ventilator for five months before it was removed in October. After a grueling period grappling with understanding his condition and encountering what seemed like a deficit in specialist care, a lifeline came when a leaflet from the Spinal Injuries Association, a charity supporting those with spinal injuries, landed in their hands.
Carol Adcock, SCI specialist nurse lead for the organisation, offered an essential care plan resulting in Ayuub’s drastic improvement. With newfound support, Ayuub advanced from being ventilator-dependent to attending the National Spinal Centre for Children and Young People in Stoke Mandeville for comprehensive rehabilitation.
However, despite progress, home modifications are needed before he can fully return home, which may happen post another admission to Stoke Mandeville slated for February. Hena added: “She was like a breath of fresh air, it was amazing. She came and she changed everything and it was brilliant.
“I felt like I could breathe after all these months. If there’s anything I’m struggling with, all I have to do is just ring Carol and she will help me.”
Despite the traumatic year for him and his family, when the extremely rare condition went undiagnosed, Ayuub admitted he is still feeling positive about the year ahead. He said: “I am looking forward to going to Stoke Mandeville where I will get will get specialised care and plan to get back to school to finish my GCSES and choose a college to join in September 2025.”
