A mum who came close to death after a freak fall at home is making small steps towards recovery, her family have said.
Joanne Edwards, 54, fell down the stairs at her home in Tyldesley just hours after celebrating her daughter’s 18th birthday.
It’s believed the mum was looking for the light switch on the way to the bathroom when she misjudged her step at the top of the stairs.
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Joanne to the bottom floor and suffered three bleeds on her brain, eight broken ribs and fractured two vertebrae in her neck.
Joanne Edwards, who is in an induced coma at the Salford Royal Hospital, Tyldesley
Her husband, Darren Edwards, was still awake and immediately called the ambulance before alerting friends and family of Joanne’s fall. The mum was then rushed to Salford Royal Hospital in the early hours of October 6 and placed into a coma.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, her sister-in-law Nicola Connelly, says Joanne has since woken up – despite suffering a stroke and coming close to death several times.
Though she can speak and walk, the mum is said to often become confused as she continues her recovery.
Nicoal Connelly and her sister-in-law Joanne Edwards, Tyldesley
“The progress is slow, but she’s stable. She’s still quite confused – she knows who we all are, but she’s very confused,” the 44-year-old said.
“She’s upset; she wants to come home all the time. She doesn’t understand it’s not safe for her at the moment.”
The eldest of four, Joanne is well known in the tight knit Tyldesley community. As well as her 18-year-old daughter, Joanne had a 22-year-old son called Adam who sadly passed away after being hit by a train in 2015.
Over the years, Joanne and family have set up a group called Adam’s Legacy Fund in memory of her son and to raise money for charity and raise awareness about mental health.
Nicola can recall the moment she heard about Joanne’s accident. “It was horrific,” she said.
Joanne Edwards and her husband Darren Edwards, Tyldesley
“We just went 24 hours in the hospital and the whole family was there. We’re a big family so we all gathered and were with her. There was always someone at her bedside.”
Nicola told the MEN Joanne is set to start rehabilitation soon to help her learn how to walk and climb stairs again.
“She’s hopefully soon going to a rehab unit in Trafford,” she added. “She kept developing infections that slowed that down. She would have been there by now.
“She’s got to have a metal plate put in her skull at some point; they’re saying that could be March time.
“Last week, we noticed she started to grab one of her legs and one of her arms started to look a bit strange. They did another brain scan and discovered she’s had a mini-stroke. She almost died a couple of times.
Joanne -Credit:Nicola Connelly
“She doesn’t remember [the accident] but she knows it happened. She’s terrified of stairs but she’s started to go up and down them now.”
While Joanne slowly recovers from her harrowing ordeal, her family say they feel “so thankful” she is still with them.
“It was a very different Christmas and New Year for us this year – the whole family,” Nicola said. “We’re so thankful.
“But we just sort of said, as bad as we think it is and as quiet as it’s been, it could have been so much worse. We could have been seeing the New Year in without Joanne being here at all.”
A JustGiving page has been set up to support Joanne’s family. You can donate here.