A disabled woman was left paralysed from the shoulders down after her exhausted husband dropped her while carrying her downstairs, and then landed on top of her.
Kelly Stuart, 44, has lived with fibromyalgia and non-epileptic seizures for the past 18 years, and had been a wheelchair user for many years before the accident. On May 17 2025, her husband Simon was helping her down the stairs so they could go out to a stage show when he missed a step while carrying her.
The couple fell down seven stairs, and Simon, 45, came down on top of Kelly at the bottom. They believe fatigue was a major factor in what happened.
In the weeks beforehand, they had been spending long days at the hospital as Simon’s mother, 75-year-old Janet Stuart, was dying. For three weeks they visited every day while also coping with their grief.
“He was trained to carry me like that but he was so tired from us going to the hospital every day, and grieving,” Kelly said.
After the fall, Kelly suffered her first full tonic-clonic seizure. Doctors later linked it directly to the accident. Although she initially seemed to rally, she soon began to experience numbness, which medical staff said they would keep an eye on.
Then, three months later, she woke up and couldn’t move.
Kelly was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND) and functional movement disorder, conditions that affect how the brain sends and receives signals throughout the body.
She says she has no sensation in her arms, torso, or legs, cannot feed herself or sit up unaided, and now depends on daily carers.
Kelly remained in hospital for eight and a half months. During that time she experienced around 500 seizures, while neurophysiotherapists and occupational therapists worked with her in an effort to restore movement and sensation.
She described the emotional impact of the sudden change, saying: “I struggled not having control over my body or life,” and adding: “I was depressed and ended up getting support from mental health nurses.”
She was discharged last month, and the couple have since relocated to a bungalow that has been adapted to meet her needs, including a ramp and a wet room conversion. Kelly is now concentrating on building a new routine, hopeful that ongoing physiotherapy alongside muscle stimulator devices may help her regain some movement over time.
Simon said he has struggled with guilt since the accident, but is trying to focus on supporting Kelly at home. “With the fall, I had a lot of guilt around that, although I feel better than I did, now she’s home,” he said.
“We just have to adjust to this new life for her.”
Kelly, who previously worked in tech, said she doesn’t blame her husband for what happened. “Simon blames himself but I could never blame the person I love. He is my world and it could so easily have been the other way around.”
The pair are now fundraising to help cover additional physiotherapy, muscle stimulator devices, and a wheelchair-accessible car.
Their GoFundMe can be found here.