Ellie Davies fell sick while she was at the gym
08:03, 24 Jun 2026Updated 10:05, 24 Jun 2026
Ellie Davies(Image: Supplied)
A mum was told she had a life-threatening condition after falling sick in the gym. Ellie Davies, 39, was attending a gym class in April this year, but as it came to end she started feeling a pain in her shoulder which she put down to whiplash.
But after standing up, Ellie vomited and had to call her partner, Glenn Williams, to take her home. Speaking to the ECHO, Ellie said: ”I thought there was something wrong with my shoulder initially at the gym, it just ached badly.
“I’ve had whiplash before and it felt like it. It felt like I just needed to click (something in place). When I stood up in the gym, I felt really weird. And then the guy taking the class said, ‘you all right?’ I said, ‘yeah’.
“I’m that type of person – I’ll just crack on with it. I just get on with anything. Then I was sick. I haven’t been sick since I was 18. At that point I thought, something’s not right, so I called Glenn to come and get me.”
Glenn brought her home to rest, but when she went to run a bath, she collapsed. Ellie, who has a 20 year-old son called Lewis Price, said: “That’s when I’ve gone out for a bit. Shortly after getting home I lost consciousness.”
An ambulance took Ellie from her home in Flintshire to the Countess of Chester, where quick investigations discovered a massive bleed in her brain. From there, Ellie was transferred to The Walton Centre in Liverpool for urgent specialist treatment.
Further investigations revealed that Ellie had had an acute subarachnoid haemorrhage, a rare type of stroke which causes bleeding on the brain, a life-threatening condition(Image: Supplied)
The Walton Centre is the only hospital trust in the UK specialising in neurology, neurosurgery and pain services.
Although the majority of patients come from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Lancashire and the Isle of Man, for some specialist treatments of complex disorders, the centre sees patients from all parts of the country, referred by their GPs or other neurologists, neurosurgeons and pain clinicians.
Further investigations revealed Ellie had had an acute subarachnoid haemorrhage, a rare type of stroke which causes bleeding on the brain, a life-threatening condition.
According to the NHS, a subarachnoid haemorrhage is a rare type of stroke that causes bleeding on the brain and needs treatment in hospital as soon as possible. Symptoms can include a painful headache that starts suddenly and does not go away, neck pain and vomiting.
Ellie said: “Glenn gave the paramedics such good information about my condition and when we got to the hospital, the staff were waiting for us at the door. My mum (Marie Garner) was with me in hospital, and she urged for a CT scan.
“I was monitored initially as they were trying to locate the origin of the bleed, and whether they needed to intervene to stop any further bleeding.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the speed and efficiency of everything, plus staff on the ward and every other department I went to were so friendly and kind. They all really took care of me.
After further testing to ensure the bleeding had stopped, Ellie was allowed to go home. It then dawned on her how serious the condition was.
Ellie said: “It felt like whiplash and I just needed something to click, but that’s actually the blood popping. The pain that comes after is the blood hitting all of your nerves, which I only found out once I came home.”
Ellie Davies (left) with mum Marie Garner and stepdad Steve Garner at The Walton Centre(Image: Supplied)
Ellie will be monitored by The Walton Centre for a little while to ensure that the bleed does not reoccur and cause further damage. She said: “My recovery hasn’t been as fast as I’d like, but I appreciate that I can only go as fast as my body will allow. “
I can walk further and further each day and brain fog is still a big factor, but considering the alternative, I’m doing really well.
“The tiredness is really bad. It grabs you and you can’t stop it. I still have pain in my head, which is the blood moving round. As that’s moving, it’s moving, it’ll hit all of your nerves.
“While it’s healing you can get pins and needles in your legs. I couldn’t walk for a few weeks. But every single day I’ve just tried to be better than yesterday.”
Ellie, who works in the NHS herself as a project manager, praised the quick response from paramedics, nurses and doctors.
She said: “You read so much like ‘the NHS is rubbish’ and stuff like that, but they were amazing. I can’t fault the paramedics that came. I think they got here in six minutes.
“At the Countess, I think I was there for maybe an hour and then I was straight up to Walton. They were absolutely out of this world. They are worth their weight in gold.
“My stepdad (Steve Garner) has a brain tumour and he was on the ward a couple of months before. His consultant would come and check on me every day, even though- he wasn’t my consultant. Everybody there is super kind.”