Father of two can no longer walk or talk after contracting gastroenteritis

A caravan cleaner who was “previously very active” had to use a walking frame at the age of 33 after contracting bacterial gastroenteritis.

Karl Morgan, 33, a father of two, was left unable to walk or talk after his ordeal, meaning he had to be put in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator.

He is still in hospital recovering, and although doctors managed to save his life, they still don’t know when – or even if – he will be able to leave the hospital.

His mother Debbie Fisher, 60, with whom he lives, said: “You can’t imagine what it means – we were there every day, sitting next to him.”

Kyle’s illness began when he suddenly started vomiting with a temperature of 40°C.

He went to the doctor, but his symptoms were ignored until he began having difficulty breathing and hallucinating.

His mother called 111 and doctors discovered he had a bacterial infection which had developed into sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome, a serious lung condition.

Karl, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, was put into a medically induced coma and on a ventilator and doctors told Debbie he might not survive.

He pulled through, but Debbie said: “He’s still sick now – he can’t walk so the physiotherapist is trying to get his limbs moving.

“The doctors said that even if they were there to take him home, they couldn’t guarantee that would happen.

“He has a walker. Can you imagine how he feels at 33, with a walker?

“He was so active before.”

In the future, he may need a pacemaker or even a heart transplant.

Debbie says he is desperate to get back to his job as a self-employed caravan cleaner.

She said: “He just wants to go back to work, that’s not going to happen because he can’t even stand up.

“He was always a window cleaner, but now he has started a caravan cleaning business.

“He never claimed welfare in his whole life, he was always doing something. He was doing brilliantly but he’s going to have to rebuild all that.”

Debbie has now set up a GoFundMe page as she tries to raise money for a caravan on the same site as hers for Karl to live in when he is discharged from hospital.

She said Karl, who is “technically homeless”, was sleeping in the awning of his caravan but that would be “impossible for all of us” during the winter.

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