Tell and Sell Stories were delighted to work with Louise and her mum Maggie to help share the story of how Louise had a stroke when she was pregnant and ended up giving birth in a coma.
Thankfully Louise and her daughter are doing well now. We placed her story in Real People magazine, MailOnline and My Weekly magazine. She and Maggie were very happy to receive three press deals and that we were able to raise awareness of the Stroke Association.
Louise’s pregnancy went smoothly until, at 37 weeks, her head began to throb and her body tingled. Doctors thought it was a trapped nerve. But then she lost control of her body and her face began to drop.
Believing she was having a stroke, her mum Maggie, 55, called an ambulance.
At hospital, because Louise was pregnant, she couldn’t be treated for the stroke.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, doctors put her into an induced coma.
Next day, with Louise completely unaware, her baby was delivered by C-section.
Afterwards, Maggie had to step in and care for her new granddaughter, Chloe.
Desperate for them to form a bond, Maggie laid Chloe on Louise's chest every day.
Midwives told her they would bond in their own time, but there was no way Maggie was leaving it to chance.
Then, one day, Chloe licked her mum's chin and Louise began to come round.
Amazingly, her daughter had brought her out of a coma.
Soon, Maggie introduced them both - but Louise refused to believe the baby was hers.
Instead, she waved Chloe away and pointed at her bump - she thought she was still pregnant.
It took four months for Louise to understand Chloe was hers.
In that time, Louise fell into another coma, her life hanging in the balance.
Luckily she came round, but was in a bad way. She didn't know where she was, didn't recognise Maggie, and couldn't talk, walk, read or write. It was up to Maggie to look after both her and Chloe. 'It was like having two newborns to care for,' she says.
Finally, seven months after the stroke, Louise went home and Maggie moved in to help with her recovery.
Now Louise has good and bad days - she suffers with seizures - but Chloe, six, is thriving. Louise says: 'I couldn't have done it without Mum. I couldn't do anything after the stroke so
I'm glad she was there to help me. And if it wasn't for her, I might never have believed Chloe was actually mine.'
Maggie says: ‘No mum should ever have to go through what Louise did. She had no bond with her daughter and couldn't even be a mum to her. Now she's doing really well and I love to watch her and Chloe together. They have a fantastic relationship.’