locked-in syndrome since 2003 after being attacked by stroke, has
bagged a degree in Ancient History by merely blinking her eyes. Each
exam took Dawn three weeks and ran for six years. She was left with
the rare condition two weeks after giving birth to son, Alexander, 11
years ago.
Dawn realised she could still communicate through her eyes and tiny
head movements and so developed a special skill, writing around 50
words per hour by blinking her eyes into a customised laptop that
translates her eye movements into text.
Her condition is where a patient is fully-aware and awake - but cannot
move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all
muscles in the body, except for the eyes. She has now achieved a 2:2
degree in Ancient History and written an autobiography - all thanks to
her relentless spirit and specialised gadget which she describes as
the most important thing in her life apart from her son. She is now
hoping to tackle a Masters in History of Art.
"When I passed my degree, I was so pleased and proud of myself. I had
achieved my goal that I had for six years been striving for. No matter
what obstacles were in my way, such as getting pneumonia twice and
other lesser illnesses, I was determined to reach my goal. When I
first had my stroke, I realised I would not be able to do anything
physical. I then decided to use the thing that had not been affected
and that was my brain," she said.
"I felt I needed to prove to myself and to others that I was still me,
Dawn. My computer is my lifeline. Never did I imagine when I got
pregnant with Alexander that my life would turn out like this."
Dawn's ordeal began when she was 26 weeks pregnant with a diagnosis
showing potentially fatal pre-eclampsia - a pregnancy condition
associated with high blood pressure. Over the next six days her health
deteriorated, until her tiny baby had to be delivered by emergency
caesarean.
A week later she returned home - still suffering high blood pressure -
but was told she would be fine. But another week on, her high blood
pressure triggered a stroke that has left her incapacitated ever
since.
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