A man who suffered a major health ordeal leading to a month's stay in hospital is looking to a brighter future after popping the question to his partner.
Liam Justice, a charity shop volunteer in Bridport, was rushed to Southampton General Hospital and put under sedation after suffering from up to three blood clots to his main artery on Saturday, December 30.
He is now out of hospital and asked his girlfriend Emily Nash to marry him amid the romantic backdrop of the Blue Pool in Wareham. She had no hesitation in saying 'yes'.
Liam's mum Ellison said a proposal plan was in the works whilst her son was in hospital.
She said: “We knew in the neuro ward in Southampton that he was going to ask her to marry him, as after she popped downstairs to grab a sandwich, Liam said, ‘I am going to ask her to marry me’.”
Devoted Emily took a month off work to be by Liam's side whilst he was in hospital.
His mother Ellison said the problem started when Liam reported having a headache in the morning.
Following the surgery, he was left with two inoperable clots either side of his head which doctors had considered as rare with only two cases seen previously in the hospital.
When they arrived in hospital, Liam’s family was told to prepare for the worst.
Liam remained sedated from the final weekend of December - but awoke on Sunday, January 7 after 11 days. Ellison also said that Liam suffered a stroke and was unable to move his left arm.
According to Ellison, Liam came on ‘leaps and bounds’ in Southampton and he was transferred to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester after his third week in hospital where he was looked after in the stroke unit carrying out physiotherapy there. Following physiotherapy Liam regained movement in his left arm, but still is without movement in his thumb.
By the end of January, Liam moved back home, with Emily and his mother helping redecorate his room upon his return.
Tests have determined that Liam suffers from antiphospholipid syndrome, a condition in which the immune system mistakenly creates antibodies that attack tissues in the body. These antibodies can cause blood clots to form in arteries and veins.
Reflecting on the past few months, and where the family are now, Ellison said: “I just think that it is so wonderful that they are engaged- I thought we were going to lose him, we all did. I couldn’t even think day-by-day, it's amazing.”
The couple went home and celebrated the news with their family and some homemade mead that Liam had brewed for New Year’s festivities.
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