A girl from the English city of Liverpool was trapped in her own body due to a fatal illness, according to The Liverpool Echo.
Nine-year-old Abigail Johnston was hospitalized on September 20. According to her parents, before that, the girl looked absolutely healthy and did not complain of feeling unwell. Doctors examined and found that Johnston had intracerebral hemorrhage. Subsequent tests showed that she had end-stage brain cancer.
“For us it was a complete surprise, – says the 44-year-old father of the girl, Shaun (Shaun). – Abby did not complain about anything; nothing foreshadowed trouble. She just suddenly felt bad that morning.” >
Johnston suffers from locked-in syndrome – a condition in which the patient has no adequate response to any external stimuli. The girl cannot move or speak. She communicates with the surrounding eyes: when she looks to the right, it means “yes”, to the left – “no”.
The disease has reached its final stage and cannot be treated. Johnston spent two weeks in the intensive care unit. For the past seven days, she has been at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, surrounded by family members and doctors. She needs 24-hour medical care. The family hopes they can celebrate Christmas together.
Earlier, a resident of the English city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, spoke about the consequences locked-in person syndrome. According to her, the recovery process turned out to be difficult: the British woman had to re-learn basic things, including swallowing.