Mortgage adviser Philip Masey, 31, who was thought to be healthy, was living with his girlfriend of three years when he suddenly collapsed at home without any warning signs
A once “healthy” man who suffered an unexpected brain haemorrhage is on the gruelling path to recovery, relearning how to walk and talk after being put in a coma and having part of his skull removed.
Philip Masey, 31, an avid golfer and mortgage adviser, was enjoying life with his girlfriend in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, when he suddenly collapsed at home in February this year. With Philip unreachable for hours, his worried mother, Charlotte Mannouris, 57, from North Leicestershire, raced over to find him.
She discovered him unconscious and immediately called for an ambulance, leading to his emergency dash to the hospital. A scan soon exposed a severe “big bleed” on his brain, prompting doctors to perform urgent surgery to remove a significant section of his skull and place Philip in an induced coma.
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His mother was told that her son might lose his ability to speak or work permanently. Emerging from his coma six days later, Philip struggled to eat and form sentences.
Nevertheless, his family remain hopeful due to recent improvements, with Philip now able to utter a few words and manage roughly three steps with support.
Currently recovering at home under the diligent watch of Charlotte and relatives, efforts to adapt his living space are underway, facilitated by a GoFundMe page set up by Charlotte. Despite these improvements, she still thinks Philip has a “slim chance” of full recovery.
“Philip would say live life to the full because you just don’t know how your life is going to change overnight,” Charlotte, who works in financial services, shared with PA Real Life.
“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.”
On February 7 this year, Philip was alone at home after his girlfriend had gone away. Charlotte received a worrying call from one of Philip’s friends after they were unable to reach him.
“With his job, he’s often on the phone for a long time at once, so if I ring him and he doesn’t answer, he’ll usually call me back an hour or two later,” she explained.
But alarmingly, “I called him but this time, he wasn’t ringing back.”
Growing increasingly anxious after numerous unreturned calls and messages, Charlotte made the one-hour and 30-minute drive to his house, only to discover him unconscious on the floor.
In a panic, she immediately called for an ambulance, and Philip was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. “They had to operate quickly, otherwise he wouldn’t survive the night,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening, it was surreal. It was just a spontaneous thing that could have been just that one weakness in a vein in his head.”
After the operation, Philip spent six days in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, which Charlotte described as a “worrying” time.
“Because we didn’t know how long he’d spent lying on the floor, we didn’t know what the prognosis would be,” she explained.
Charlotte braced herself for significant impairments: “I was prepared for him to lose the use of his right arm and right leg, because the injury was on the left side of his brain. They warned me he may never speak and he would never work again.
“He’s taking a couple of steps now, he’s in a wheelchair but he can stand up with help. They’ve said he’ll walk, but whether he is fit and running like he used to, I don’t know.”
On March 21, Philip was transferred to Evesham Community Hospital for rehabilitation, where he spent four weeks receiving 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.
Charlotte hopes the fundraiser will help fund changes to their home, including the installation of a wet room, and to cover additional physiotherapy and speech therapy sessions, raising more than £13,000.
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