An Australian mother who was paralysed and nearly died twice in Africa is unsure whether she will ever fully regain control of her body.
Leah Makanda, from Newcastle in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, first fell ill in Uganda in March.
The mother of four, who lives with Addison’s disease, was left unable to move after her illness was triggered by the stress of learning of the death of a graduate student who worked for a charity Ms Makanda had set up to help impoverished families.
Ms Makanda then contracted malaria and suffered sepsis before being rushed to hospital with severe chest pains when blood clots formed in her lungs.
She lost consciousness twice and had to be resuscitated with cortisol steroids and fluids to prevent cardiac arrest.
Just a week into her treatment, Ms Makanda experienced severe pain throughout her body and lost movement in her arms and legs.
“I couldn’t move any part of my body except my head, and there was minimal movement in my neck,” Makanda told 7News.
“It was like a battery went out and no one knew what was happening.”
Ms Makanda (pictured) was paralysed a week after starting her treatment as she experienced severe pain throughout her body and soon lost movement in her arms and legs.
The hospital where Ms Makanda was admitted lacked the facilities and resources to provide her with the care she needed.
She became immobile and totally dependent on her husband Robert, her family and her caregivers.
His family in Australia launched a GoFundMe so that Ms. Makanda could fly back home to receive the specialized care she needed.
He eventually regained enough movement in his limbs to be able to fly back to Newcastle in May.
She was admitted to John Hunter Hospital and diagnosed with functional neurological disorders, which are diseases caused by changes in the way the brain works.
Mrs Makanda’s loved ones rallied around the country to ask for donations so she could return home and receive the treatment she needs. Pictured here with her husband Robert
She was recently discharged from the hospital, but still has a long road to recovery ahead of her, with no idea if her body will ever return to normal.
“Maybe it’s something I have to live with. It’s been very, very difficult; it’s changed our future,” he said.
Ms Makanda is grateful for the support she has received since she fell ill.
Ms Makanda had been living in Uganda for 11 years after she first visited the landlocked country as a teenager during a trip with the Salvation Army to help children in orphanages.
She met her husband during a separate visit when she was 25 and the couple soon married and have three boys and a girl, whom they adopted.
Ms Makanda (pictured centre) was recently discharged from John Hunter Hospital but still has a long road to recovery and is unsure whether her body will ever return to normal.
The couple launched the Mbuyu Foundation in an attempt to help men, women and children live a life free from poverty.
Ms. Makanda has not given up on returning to Uganda, the country she calls home, to help hundreds of families in need.
But right now he’s living his life day by day as he continues his road to recovery.