Partner of man feared brain dead after food poisoning 'from £3 supermarket sandwich' issues urgent warning

As her partner is feared brain dead following food poisoning from a supermarket sandwich, a woman has issued an urgent warning.

Blake Penell’s family believe a ‘£3 supermarket chicken sandwich’ led to him contracting E. coli and suffering a rare stroke.

The 30-year-old has since spent almost a year in hospital and can’t sit up or stand.

The Norfolk man’s partner Lauren, who says he has ‘been through the ringer’, reckons a chicken salad sandwich from a local shop may have contained E. coli.

In the UK last May and June, an E. coli breakout affected more than 270 people with numerous hospitalisations. It was initially linked to salad leaves in sandwiches, with a number of major supermarkets having been impacted.

Blake had been ‘very poorly’ from 14 June, with Lauren saying he could barely move from the sofa.

Blake suffered a stroke last year as E. coli was found in his system (SWNS)

Based in Stoke-on-Trent, she said his speech was ‘normal’ and that his face was ok, noting he could ‘put his arms above his head’.

"We didn't know it was a stroke because a stroke is not always what people think it is,” she explained. "None of the 'FAST' symptoms were there."

FAST is the acronym used to help identify the key signs of a stroke: face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulties, and time to call 999.

The 3D artist was taken to A&E where Lauren says it wasn’t initially recognised as a stroke either.

“It was an hour after he was admitted that his speech slurred,” she explained. "Everybody kicked up a gear and gave him the scan."

He was then diagnosed with the very rare basilar artery stroke and underwent a thrombectomy, to remove a blood clot from the artery supplying blood to the back of the brain.

After being sent to the stroke recovery ward, he was sent for emergency surgery a day later.

Blake had cerebral tonsil herniation - a condition where part of the cerebellum descends into the spinal canal and causes swelling.

Lauren explained: "Blake had a posterior craniotomy by one of the top neurosurgeons in the country - most people don't make it off the operating table."

Lauren warns that strokes are not 'just for older people' (SWNS)

He was then in a medical coma on a ventilator for four and a half weeks and also had a tracheostomy. He’s ended up spending the last eight months in the Royal Stroke Hospital making a slow recovery after doctors originally feared he could be brain dead.

Lauren believes it was the E. coli found in his system that caused the stroke.

"There's no other reason he would have had a stroke - he doesn't drink or smoke and he's healthy,” she said. "In the early days doctors said he could be brain dead. We just kept on believing that wasn't the case.”

Considering going into occupational therapy following her partner’s diagnosis, Lauren has hope that after rehab and physio he’ll be looking at a good quality of life.

Spending time with him every day, she said he can now move his right arm and leg and uses a tablet to communicate.

“Blake can't sit up or stand but he does have head control in his wheelchair,” she explained. "He's started to mouth words at me including 'I miss you'.”

With a fundraiser set up on GoFundMe to help his recovery, Lauren added the warning: “People need to know that a stroke is not just for older people and the symptoms may not be typical."

To donate to Blake's GoFundMe, click here.