Gym-goer develops locked-in syndrome and can only communicate by blinking after feeling 'dizzy and fatigued'
A gym-goer has been left only able communicate by blinking after developing a rare neurological condition.
Brit Oli Coppock developed the devastating condition just months after undergoing treatment for a brain tumour and had 'bounced straight back' after surgery.
The 32-year-old had previously been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a year before, later finding out he also had a grade two brain tumour.
There appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Oli after he had surgery to remove the tumour, returning to work and the gym after 10 days in hospital.
Advert
However months later tragedy would strike just a couple of months later.
In May, Oli would go back to hospital after feeling 'dizzy and fatigued', where he suffered a cardiac arrest and became unresponsive.
The complication would be devastating impact on Oli, who is now developed a condition called locked-in syndrome and is completely paralysed.
Despite having normal cognitive functions, Oli is unable to move and can only communicate through blinking. He is also relying on a tracheostomy to support his breathing and is being fed through a tube.
Speaking about his condition, Oli's girlfriend Beth Wright, 33, revealed she's been left 'heartbroken' by the situation.
"He can wiggle his fingers a little bit and can shrug his shoulders sometimes to say no," she said.
"Everything else is fine - he can still understand everything I can say to him.
"The most upsetting thing is me is that I say to him 'Oli are you alright' and he blinks to say yes, that he is OK - even though he isn't."
She added: "You wouldn't think that anything had ever happened to him.
"It's like he's on life support because he's unable to do anything for himself apart from blinking, listening and looking."
Beth went on to add that she and Oli's loved ones are now fundraising - which can be found here - to pay for his rehabilitation costs, with the aim of getting him to be treated at a private facility.
It's here they believe Oli will have the best chance possible for an improved quality of life through treatments such as physio and speech therapy.
"The doctors haven't said it, but we are worried he's going to end up in a care home when he needs to be least given a chance to have rehabilitation," Beth said.
"He shouldn't just be left in a care home at 32 years old for the rest of his life."
Brenna Cooper