Niaomi Baker has finally returned to the UK after close to three months in hospital in Tunisia
Niaomi Baker has returned to the UK after close to three months of being stuck in Tunisia
A woman who spent close to three months in intensive care in Tunisia has finally returned to the UK. Niaomi Baker was stranded in Africa after she suffered what is believed to be an epileptic seizure while boarding her flight back to Liverpool on February 11 this year.
The 33-year-old from Kirkby was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma, with her cousin Laylla Baker previously telling the ECHO how Niaomi was bedbound fore more than two months. Laylla said her cousin went abroad without their family’s knowledge, travelling to the country with a friend and without travel insurance despite having several medical conditions.
Laylla, a mum-of-one and also from Kirkby, explained how Niaomi has autism, functional neurological disorder (FND) and a mental condition which means Niaomi has the mental ability of a child. As well as this, Niaomi has epilepsy which she was diagnosed with as a child.
Despite this, Laylla, 34, who is Niaomi’s next-of-kin, was unaware of her cousin’s trip until she received the phone call from one of her carers on February 15 – four days after she was placed in a coma.
Following weeks of uncertainty surrounding Niaomi’s situation, Laylla and her family were able to organise the rescue of her cousin from Tunisia after the people of Merseyside raised thousands of pounds to help the family with the repatriation.
Niaomi Baker has returned to the UK after close to three months of being stuck in Tunisia
Laylla and her family raised additional funds alongside their GoFundMe, with them able to pay for 000 Medical Repatriation to bring Niaomi home. A crew of three people travelled to the north African country where they boarded her and flew her home.
However, when she arrived in Manchester on Wednesday, May 6, her condition had deteriorated during the flight, with her being rushed to Wythenshawe Hospital, arriving in intensive care in the early hours of Thursday, May 7, Laylla told the ECHO.
She remains in intensive care, with her only opening her eyes for a minute or two at a time. Laylla said: “She’s not good at the moment, she is really poorly.
“While she was in Tunisia, they think her brain was starved of oxygen because they didn’t know how to treat her properly, she has also come back bed sores which are now infected. Niaomi’s kidneys aren’t working properly either.
“It’s horrible and we’re just hoping for another mircale now. The family has come together and we’re just waiting till her kidneys are better and the infections pass before they take her to the Walton Centre.”
Laylla added: “Even the medical team said if it had been another day in Tunisia, she could have died. It was that bad.”
She explained it was the work of the medical team – Danny, Lee and Ian – which proved to be pivotal in the process, with them keeping the family updated every step of the way.
The 000 Medical Repatriation team
Laylla previously told the ECHO she was unable to fly to the country to see her cousin due to being recently diagnosed with brain cancer and not being able to afford the travel insurance as a result.
She explained how Niaomi is without close family members following the death of her mum, Karen, two years ago when Niaomi found her dead in bed, Niaomi’s dad is in a nursing home.
Following the death of her mum, Niaomi was placed in an induced coma after a diagnosis of FND and suffering as many as 96 seizures in a day, her cousin said. She recovered but now faces “history repeating itself”.
Niaomi was brought out of her coma while in Tunisia but failed to fully regain consciousness. Contact between the family and the medical team at the hospital was limited, according to Laylla but the hospital recommended during Niaomi’s stay that she return to the UK for further treatment.