Mum put son into car and then woke up in hospital three weeks later

A mum who strapped her young son into her car before collapsing at the wheel woke up three weeks later in hospital with no memory of what happened. Shelly Gill, 49, had taken her son Theo to for a routine appointment in December last year. But the perfectly normal morning soon turned into a Christmas nightmare when the mum-of-three collapsed at the wheel of her car and was rushed into the intensive care unit with a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Shelly, from the , told the last thing she remembers before waking up in hospital was a stranger asking if she could have her car park space. Shelly has since met the stranger who has allowed her to “piece together the gaps in her memory” to uncover what happened to her. Speaking to yesterday afternoon (December 14), Shelly said: “I thought I had just collapsed at the wheel while parked but I’ve been told I actually started reversing out the space and put on my handbrake so I must have been conscious enough to know what happened.

When the stranger ran over I was keeled over at the wheel. “Theo (now five) was in the back of the car. He said ‘has mum fallen asleep’.

I was really concerned about what my son had seen but apparently I collapsed at the wheel. The lady ran into the hospital and nurses came out and took me into ICU where I was resuscitated. “I was totally unaware but two aneurysms in my brain had ruptured, I was assessed and blue lighted over to where I had emergency surgery.

They found I had four aneurysms in total. They had me in an induced coma and tried to wake me four times. “They told my older sons, Arron and Kieran, that the fifth time would be my last.

They said even if I was woken then I could have brain damage. On December 29 I woke up in hospital with no memory of what had happened. ” When she woke from the coma Shelly could not walk or talk.

She was told she had also had a stroke at the same time as the haemorrhage. However, without any support, she soon started talking again. And two weeks after that, with the help of a physio, she started walking again as well.

Shelly said she had issues with her memory and struggled to remember what had happened five minutes earlier. She got a cognitive therapist and was referred to specialists at by the team at . The mum said while at she was allowed to go home for the weekend and could give presents, hidden inside a suitcase since before the incident, to Theo.

Shelly told : “After that weekend I went back to Clatterbridge and told them I wanted to do my recovery at home – I needed to be in my own home and with Theo. “They had a big meeting and it was decided I could go home the next day. I was also assigned an occupational therapist who helped me grasp what had happened.

My memory started coming back but there were little things I struggled with. I would question if I had turned off the cooker or if I had locked the door. “They were tiny things but were huge for me.

My therapist also helped me grasp the severity of what happened. Only 1% of people come out the other side from what I went through and are okay. ” Shelly had to relearn things as she made her recovery such as driving.

She also could not be alone with Theo for six months so received support from his dad and her two older sons, both in their early 30s. She has also been unable to return to work as a tutor in the substance misuse and mental health sector full time. She added: “My brain can get fatigued.

I feel okay and look okay so it can be hard to hear why I can’t do something. ” Despite this Shelly continues to make a recovery that has even left healthcare professionals amazed. She said the doctors have said they have never known someone to make a recovery like she has.

She has received treatment on her two other aneurysms, most recently in September, and will remain under observation until March. Just this week she also made contact with the stranger who found her slumped at the wheel after she put out a post on . The post was shared hundreds of times and allowed Shelly to track down the life-saving stranger.

The pair will meet next week. Shelly said: “We were texting all day and I was just crying. She told me she had had a bad year so I hope I have helped her realise things can get better.

“After I put out the request so many people were getting in touch with me. I want to tell my story so people who might be in a similar situation can see that there is hope. You can make a recovery.

” Despite her ongoing recovery, Shelly recognises how traumatic the past year has been, particularly for her three children. She told : “I think it’s been particularly difficult for my older sons as they met with the consultants and heard how not one of them thought I was going to survive. “They have been very protective of me over the past year.

They’ve heard the brain aneurysms are hereditary so I’ve told them to go and get checked. It’s better knowing and getting the treatment done instead of waiting and not knowing. “My youngest Theo did not know what happened in the car.

He sometimes asks if I’m sick but his face lit up when I said I would be here for Christmas. I can’t wait for a normal Christmas – I have gone above and beyond this year. I just want it to be perfect.

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