Angmering woman faces years of recovery after devastating fall

Kelly Stuart, 44, has suffered with chronic pain condition fibromyalgia for 18 years as well as non-epileptic seizures, and has used a wheelchair for many years.

Her carer and husband Simon Stuart, 45, was carrying her down the stairs at their home when he missed a step and dropped Kelly.

The pair tumbled down seven stairs, before Simon landed on top of his wife.

Kelly and Simon had been exhausted after spending a three weeks in hospital with his dying mum – Janet Stuart, 75 – and think this caused him to stumble.

At the bottom of the stairs Kelly had her first full tonic-clonic seizure - which doctors later said was caused by the fall.

She initially appeared to have recovered soon after, but she later experienced some numbness which doctors said they would look into.

Three months on, she woke up and was paralysed from the shoulders down

Doctors think this fall caused her to develop functional neruological disorder (FND).

She now has no feeling in her arms, torso or legs, needs daily carers and is unable to feed herself or sit upright - and may need years of physiotherapy to build up her muscles again.

Kelly, a former tech worker said: "It's been very difficult, mourning the life I had before, but I'm keeping my faith that I'll make progress with muscle stimulator machines and physio.

"Simon blames himself but I could never blame the person I love. He is my world and it could so easily have been the other way around."

Simon added: "It has been quite a challenge.

"With the fall, I had a lot of guilt around that, although I feel better than I did, now she's home.

"We just have to adjust to this new life for her."

Before the fall, Kelly used a wheelchair but was able to move all her limbs.

The couple were on their way out to see a stage show when they fell on May 17, 2025.

"He was trained to carry me like that but he was so tired from us going to the hospital every day, and grieving," said Kelly.

Kelly had a seizure but the hospital reassured her it was ‘normal’.

Then on August 14, she had a severe ‘thunderbolt’ headache. The following day she felt weak before blacking out entirely, while in bed.

When she woke up, she was unable to move and was admitted to hospital.

Initially doctors thought she had Guillain-Barré syndrome, which causes numbness and nerve pain. But she was eventually diagnosed with FND and functional movement disorder – conditions where the brain experiences trouble sending and receiving signals correctly.

She was kept in hospital for eight and a half months where she had 500 seizures while neuro-physiotherapists and occupational therapists tried to reactivate feeling and movement in her body

But progress has been very slow.

She said: "I struggled not having control over my body or life.

"I was depressed and ended up getting support from mental health nurses."

After being discharged last month, the couple are living in a new bungalow, while adaptations have been made to the home including adding a ramp and converting the bathroom to a wet room.

Their home needs adaptations to accommodate her new wider specialist neurology wheelchair.

They also want to pay for further physiotherapy and muscle stimulator devices costing £2,700 and a wheelchair-suited car.

She added: "I just want to live as normal a life as possible now."

If you would like to donate, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/mcr8b-disability-adaptations