FEATURE: Appeal after grandmother left paralysed

Little did she know that her life was about to change forever.

Moments later she was in A&E with a burning sensation in her legs becoming excruciatingly painful.

The 51-year-old is now paralysed from the waist down, has lost all feeling in her legs and will be wheelchair bound for the rest of her life.

Daughter Emma Mowbray, who also works at the hospital, said: “After mum had an MRI scan we found out that a bulging disc in her back had blocked the blood supply and nerves to her spinal cord which had actually severed her spinal cord.”

Stephanie was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for surgery where the family were told it was one of the worst cases the surgeon had seen.

Emma is currently pregnant with her second child, a little girl due in January, and is hoping to raise money to modify her mum’s home to make her daily life better, a lightweight wheelchair and fund further rehabilitation at a specialist centre.

She added: “We just want to raise as much money as we can to help make mum’s life a little bit easier. I know mum is safe when she is in hospital because there is so much help but I’m worried about when she comes home. My dad has a really bad back and is 20 years older than mum. He’s having injections at the moment but may need spinal surgery himself.

“Mum is on about 20 different medications and she is in agony because of her nerves. We are trying to stay positive and remind her that she still has her mind and we haven’t lost her but she’s really upset.”

Emma plans to extend her maternity leave as she is so worried about her mum adapting to life outside of hospital.

She said: “My husband has been great but he works away a lot so come January I will be looking after my new-born daughter, my paralysed mum and my dad who is awaiting back surgery.

“I know everyone is skint with Christmas but every little bit would help. Even if people gave just £1 just think what we could do with that money it would be such a big help for mum. She is going to be really restricted in what she can do and where she can go when she comes home.”

Stephanie has been at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital since September and was hoping to return home before Christmas. However, her home needs to be specially adapted to accommodate her needs.

Stephanie said: “A massive thank you for everyone’s kind words of support since my injury, I’m really touched to know people are thinking of me. Also a big thank you to everyone who has already donated towards my fund – it means so much to me.”

To make a donation to the Just Giving page please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Help-Stephs-Recovery