'You may see it as simply doing your job - but it's beyond that'

MUM PRAISES NHS FOR GIVING HER 'SECOND CHANCE'

- By IMOGEN HOWSE

Manju Pillai fell ill not long after returning from a holiday in Qatar and the Maldives

(ST GEORGE'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS / SWNS)

A MUM who ended up in intensive care after her legs mysteriously "stopped working" has praised the NHS for giving her a "second chance at life".

Manju Pillai, 46, first started feeling unwell when she returned home from a family holiday in Qatar and the Maldives, with her husband Ajith and their children Ramaya, 23, and Ashaan, 13.

She says her legs felt "numb" and "unusually heavy" on the flight back - but she tried to put her symptoms to the back of her mind as she did not want to miss her daughter's graduation celebrations.

However, just over a week later, Manju’s legs suddenly “stopped working” while she was walking her dog.

The mum-of-two, from Banstead, called 111 and was referred to her GP, who advised her to go to A&E at Epsom Hospital.

From there, Manju’s condition deteriorated. The numbness spread to her hands and legs, and she started suffering from uncontrollable spasms.

When her breathing became compromised, she was intubated and transferred to the intensive care unit, where she remained gravely ill for two weeks.