Gelligaer woman left paralysed 'wants to be a mum again'

Jessica Ennis has suffered from chronic pains and aches since August 2022, and planned to take a bath on June 21, 2023, to help ease her symptoms, only to suddenly become paralysed from the waist down.

Her mother was called and was able to get Ms Ennis out of the bath while they awaited the paramedics, who first took her to the Grange Hospital, and from there she was moved to Ystrad Mynach Hospital where she is now bedbound.

She has said that day in June was the last time she saw her own home, which she shares with husband Conan, daughters Cassidy, three, Savannah, two and 11-year-old stepson Caylan.

Jessica with her husband and children (Image: Conan Ennis)Ms Ennis was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition that “describes a problem with how the brain receives and sends information to the rest of the body” according to the NHS.

Although symptoms can vary with each person, Ms Ennis has many of the more common ones, including arm and leg weakness and regular seizures.

This was a crushing blow to someone who was already dealing with many health issues, having been diagnosed with chronic fibromyalgia in December 2022 and been blind in her left eye since November, as well as dealing with constant major headaches.

Ms Ennis said: “I felt completely numb when they told me like my life had been taken away from me, it was a life-changing diagnosis with a range of vicious symptoms.

“I can’t function and just want to be a mum and a wife again. I just want to be the Jessica I was before and want to be part of the community again.”

Family is everything to Jessica, including her husband Conan and daughters Cassidy, three and Savannah, two (Image: Jessica Ennis)

Family means everything to Ms Ennis, whose older sister Rebecca Davies has described her as "an inspiration to us all". Ms Davies added: "I don't think I realised how strong she is until this all happened."

The seizures, tics and involuntary movement have left Ms Ennis unable to feed or dress herself, something she finds hard to accept as a proud young woman.

She has described the daily seizures as “like lightning bolts through my body” which leave her unable to breathe and completely exhausted.

She continued: “The worst part of all this is I can’t bear to be touched, so I have to push my children away when they come to visit, when actually all I want to do is hug them and my amazing husband. Each time they leave after a visit is the hardest part of my day.

“Nobody knows what the future holds because every patient is different, and this condition is so rare.”

Ms Ennis has been an active stalwart of the local community, setting up local football and netball teams and constantly taking on mammoth physical challenges for charity.

Just last year, she and her husband took on the Cardiff Half Marathon for Dementia UK, and she has always been known among the locals for her commitment to the young children in the community.

Ms Ennis is desperate to get home to her family (Image: Jessica Ennis)Her impact is reflected in how the community have got behind her during this tragic time, currently having raised £3,000 on a GoFundMe to get her home adapted so she can leave hospital.

“I want to thank everyone who has helped so far,” Ms Ennis exclaimed. “It means so much to me and every time I think about it, I want to cry.

"Getting back to my family is the only thing keeping me going at the moment, and this fundraising will hopefully enable me to do that.”