Teenager Lexi Browne endured agonizing pain after developing an exceptionally rare complication from the flu that left her paralyzed and fighting for her life.
Lexi, 14, became unwell toward the end of 2025. At first, the illness looked like a typical bout of influenza, with symptoms including fever and dizziness. But her condition quickly became far more severe than anyone expected, with the pain becoming so intense that she was left screaming.
As her health declined at speed, Lexi phoned her mom in distress, crying out in pain. She was rushed to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England, where doctors placed her into what was described as a ‘neuroprotective’ coma in an effort to protect her brain and body while they assessed what was happening.
Clinicians now believe the flu triggered an extraordinarily uncommon but serious complication: a disruption to the blood supply to her spine that caused a spinal stroke. The injury has left Lexi paralyzed, with doctors saying the effects are permanent.
Though the medical emergency began in December, Lexi is still in hospital and continues to need help breathing, using a ventilator to support her lungs.
Her mom, Stacey Grantham, 33, has spoken about the terrifying moment she realized just how quickly things were worsening, and the frantic journey home after hearing her daughter cry out down the phone.
Stacey said she knew it was urgent, and when she arrived she found paramedics already there, with an air ambulance team working to resuscitate Lexi. Stacey explained that Lexi had been ‘healthy and active’ before the sudden, catastrophic downturn.
Lexi’s mom described her as a ‘passionate singer’ who also loved drama. Stacey said it’s been heartbreaking watching Lexi cope with the fact she has ‘lost everything she loves’ as a result of the spinal stroke, which initially robbed her of speech as well.
Stacey said Lexi has felt overwhelmed by what’s happened, adding that her daughter feels like she ‘can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.’
Stacey said: “When she woke, she was paralysed from the neck down and we were told she’d have no movement again, and be ventilated for the rest of her life.”
The family has been told that intensive physiotherapy could potentially help Lexi regain a small amount of strength, though progress so far has been limited. At the moment, she can breathe independently during the day, but still relies on the ventilator overnight while she sleeps.
Since the early days after she came out of the ‘neuroprotective’ coma, Lexi has also managed to regain the ability to speak. Stacey said this has been helped by a tracheostomy tube fitted in her neck.
“She can now talk as she would before, but her voice is huskier and she has an uncomfortable tube in her neck,” Stacey said, adding: “She was an avid singer and her voice has been taken away, that’s been devastating for her.”
Despite the enormity of what the family is facing, there have been small but meaningful breakthroughs. Stacey described a recent moment that surprised doctors, when Lexi managed to sit upright on her own for 30 seconds—something her medical team didn’t expect would be possible.
You can visit the family’s GoFundMe page here.