A cherished mum was left unable to speak after a devastating brain haemorrhage was overlooked by medics, her son has revealed.
Delores Bart, from Wolverhampton, first collapsed in her bathroom on September 15 2024 and was rushed to hospital by her son, Leon.
Despite experiencing dizziness following the incident, the mum-of-two was discharged with advice to return if the pain got worse. Over the next few days, Delores visited her GP on two occasions seeking help for severe head pain and was sent away with painkillers.
On the first visit she was prescribed paracetamol, and on the second occasion she was offered co-codamol, reports Birmingham Live.
Yet despite the pain relief, Delores continued to struggle and collapsed outside her grandchildren’s school on September 27.
She was rushed to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, where medics confirmed she had suffered a brain haemorrhage.
Delores, 56, was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she underwent brain surgery.
Nearly two years later, Delores can utter a few words and phrases but has lost all movement on her right side. She receives round-the-clock care from 35-year-old Leon, who only leaves home to visit his office once a week.
The remainder of his time is devoted to looking after his mum, who he insists is still very much present, despite her communication challenges.
Discussing his mum’s initial collapse, Leon said: “In the evening, I heard a thud in the bathroom. When she opened the door, I could see that she was disoriented, and she told me she felt dizzy.
“I took her to A&E, and we waited for about three-and-a-half hours before seeing a doctor who asked what happened.
“They sent her home to keep an eye on it and told us to come back if it got worse. The next day, she had a mild headache, but it wasn’t too bad.
“Over the next 12 days, she suffered with headaches and returned to A&E but left after waiting nine-and-a-half hours. She came back home because she was worried about missing work the next day.
“She made an appointment at the GP and went twice in those 12 days. The first time she was sent home with paracetamol, the second time she was sent home with co-codamol.
“On the tenth day following her fall, she went to Specsavers and said they didn’t see anything wrong with her eyes, which was causing the headaches.”
Twelve days following her original tumble, Leon received a phone call informing him that his mum had collapsed while on her way to collect her grandchildren from school.
“I thought maybe she had fainted again, but I got to New Cross Hospital and was sent to a waiting room.
“The doctor finally came in and said they found a significant bleed on her brain.
“They said they were not equipped to do that level of surgery and so she would be transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for immediate brain surgery.
“The CT scan showed a bleed had been going for about 12 days, so the whole timeline matched up. Her brain had slowly been bleeding out.
“We were told we could see her for about three minutes while they waited for the helicopter and then she would be sent straight away.
“When I walked in, I didn’t recognise her, and she didn’t recognise me. She was sitting upright on the bed and couldn’t talk, was making moaning noises, and was trying to get out of the bed.
“She looked straight through us. I don’t think I have ever cried so much in my life it was horrendous.”
Leon and his sister, Charlotte, have not lodged any official complaints with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust regarding their mother’s initial treatment at A&E.
After her operation, Dolores was returned to New Cross Hospital before being moved to West Park Hospital for recovery.
She was subsequently brought home, where Leon provides her care after accepting a workplace demotion to look after his mother.
He explained: “The stage she is at now, she will likely be at for the rest of her life. She is medically stable but can’t move her right side at all.
“She has aphasia, so she can’t say the words she wants to say. It used to be ‘avocado’, so every time she opened her mouth, the word ‘avocado’ would come out.
“Now we’re at the point where she can say ‘open the window’, or ‘cup of tea please’ and ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
“We have to play 20 questions to find out what she wants. She can’t do anything for herself so I care for her 24 hours a day.”
Leon has set up a GoFundMe page to collect money for adapting their home to meet Dolores’ requirements.
A representative for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust stated: “We would be happy to meet with Mrs Bart and her family to discuss any concerns they have over the care she received.”