- Lorna Dewhurst, 33, weighed just five stone when her heart stopped
- She had been battling anorexia for 10 years and her muscles were weak
- Her mother found her in the bath and gave her CPR until paramedics arrived
- She was rushed to hospital where her family were told to expect the worst
- She spent six weeks in intensive care and high dependency
- She now weighs a healthy nine stone and is set to marry her fiancé, Jeremy
By
Emma Innes
05:58 EST, 26 February 2014
|
07:18 EST, 26 February 2014
An anorexic who became so weak she ‘died’ in the bath has made a miraculous recovery after she was brought back to life by her mother.
Lorna Dewhurst, 33, battled the disease for ten years before her heart finally failed when she weighed a skeletal five stone.
She was discovered face-down in the bath by her mother, Carol, who hauled her out and performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
Lorna Dewhurst, 33, nearly died when her heart failed in the bath. She was saved by her mother giving her CPR
Ms Dewhurst was rushed to intensive care where she was blessed by a vicar after her devastated family were told to expect the worse.
But she pulled through and her near-death experience gave her the strength to turn her life around.
She now weighs a healthy nine stone and is due to marry her fiancé, Jeremy, next year.
The healthcare consultant said: ‘Anorexia had made my muscles weak. My heart just decided to stop, it couldn’t cope anymore.
‘It was completely out of the blue. I don’t remember feeling faint and never had any symptoms before.
‘I could have been driving or on my own somewhere, I was incredibly lucky to be surrounded by family.’
When her heart failed Ms Dewhurst had been battling anorexia for ten years and she weighed just five stone
Ms Dewhurst, from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, was at her brother Rob and his fiancée Charlotte’s house in Liverpool when she suffered her cardiac arrest in August 2011.
Her mother, a palliative nurse from Cheltenham, gave her daughter a second chance at life when she helped bring her back with the help of Charlotte.
She said: ‘Thankfully, we all know first aid so took turns to perform CPR to try to resuscitate Lorna before paramedics arrived.Â
‘Her heart was so weak it had stopped beating. The paramedics shocked Lorna a couple of times.Â
‘Not every mother gives life to their children twice – I gave birth to her and resuscitated her.’
Paramedics took Ms Dewhurst to The Royal Liverpool University Hospital where she spent six weeks in intensive care and high dependency before being transferred to a hospital closer to her home in Bristol
Ms Dewhurst was taken to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital’s intensive care unit and then high-dependency, where she spent six weeks before being transferred to a hospital in Bristol to be nearer family.
She has no memory of her first two weeks in hospital.
‘There are two weeks gone from my memory,’ she said. ‘When I woke up in hospital my face was a picture apparently.
‘Everyone at the Royal was just amazing.
‘I was so weak and so ill. I don’t think there could have been much life left in me.
‘I couldn’t do anything. They helped me drink water, they helped me stand up – everything. I couldn’t have asked for better care.
‘I had no energy in me, it was a real effort to sit up. I would sit in a chair, move to stand up and take a few steps.
Ms Dewhurst said: ‘Everyone at the Royal was just amazing. I was so weak and so ill. I don’t think there could have been much life left in me. I couldn’t do anything. They helped me drink water, they helped me stand up – everything. I couldn’t have asked for better care’
‘After four weeks I was able to walk down the corridor.’
MRI and CT scans revealed Ms Dewhurst had sustained no lasting damage to her heart and her long road to recovery began.
A year after she was discharged she met her partner Jeremy who proposed last year and they plan to marry next year.
Ms Dewhurst is also looking forward to being a bridesmaid at his brother’s wedding in October.
She added: ‘Who would have thought it would be possible when I was in a coma?’
Her mother added: ‘It’s sad she lost 10 years of her life to anorexia, but without the care she got, she wouldn’t have a life now.
‘Lorna knows she lost her life and got it back. We are lucky to have her with us today.’
She is telling her story as part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, shedding light on conditions like anorexia which affect 1.6 million people in the UK alone.
If you are worried that you, or someone you know, might have an eating disorder, visit www.b-eat.co.uk/
or comment on this article
-
Horror moment man is floored by single, fatal punch
-
NFL star Ray Rice drags unconscious fiancee from elevator…
-
Bigfoot on camera? Tracker claims this is the beast
-
Run! Woman chased by ‘stampeding herd’ of rabbits in Japan
-
Five cops restrain man who later died in hospital
-
INSIDE the tiny house helping to solve homeless crisis in…
-
Slapped in the face by a whale’s tail: Girl gets a little…
-
Deck collapses sending 24 people hurtling to the ground
-
WARNING: Graphic video shows fatal bridge collapse
-
Extreme wingsuit fly-by past Christ Redeemer statue in Rio
-
Caught on camera: Bird smashes through cockpit window
-
Inside drug kingpin’s network of escape tunnels
-
Five kids in nine months! Couple who adopted triplets became…
-
California couple strikes gold after finding $10million of…
-
The tiny houses costing only $5,000 that are playing their…
-
Ex-NFL star and murder suspect Aaron Hernandez ‘attacks…
-
‘If it seems too good to be true, it probably is’: Ex-NFL…
-
California drought bare: Photos show how reservoir is almost…
-
Family sues after 10-year-old son dies of RAT-BITE FEVER…
-
The ‘backside’ of fame: Pippa warns about the perils of…
-
Map of each state’s favorite musicians puts Bruce…
-
The totally fraudulent lives of the Montana couple who LIED…
-
Syria’s starving hordes: In a biblical picture of suffering,…
-
‘Someone took my cab!’ Mother, 39, who gave birth on New…
Comments (11)
what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
Enough,
Tampa,
5 hours ago
What a beautiful smile, please continue to share it with the world.
anng53,
cheshire, United Kingdom,
5 hours ago
What a wonderful story, and a wonderful mother
Fatigue Dancer,
LEICESTER, United Kingdom,
5 hours ago
im glad she made a good recovery – and raising awareness.
Pravda,
Atlantis, United Kingdom,
6 hours ago
I’m sure that if the psychological health service in England was even a tenth as good as AE services that there would be relatively little mental illness in the country, but alas Britain remains in the dark ages and diseases of this nature will continue to thrive… very sad…
Kay,
Midlands, United Kingdom,
6 hours ago
and goes on the meet the love of her life – how incredible i suppose there are thousands of stories out there like this thing is why would we be interested in this one answer we are not
OSSI,
Berlin, Germany,
7 hours ago
What a very pretty girl, i hope you and your soon to be,will be very happy , and well done MUM
dono12,
Dusseldorf, Germany,
7 hours ago
What a terrible thing to live with, but so good her family saved her and she is recovering. Good luck for the future
ria1960,
plymouth,
8 hours ago
Poor girl. I am in the grip of anorexia and my heart rate has dropped dramatically twice and paramedics have had to give me atropine to bring it up again. I am too scared to recover at the moment. I just hope one day the fear will leave me. I am 54 years old and was fat all my life til my forties. I then decided to eat healthy and exercise and I lost ten stone. I just don’t want to go backwards. Good luck to you my lovely lady. Have a happy life. xx
2 of 3 replies
MummyPhus,
Reading,
6 hours ago
Worley_,
Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom,
5 hours ago
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now