Man left unable to walk or talk after headache turned out to be a stroke and brain haemorrhage
A man who complained of a bad headache while putting up a Christmas tree had actually suffered a stroke and a brain haemorrhage which has left him unable to walk or speak.
Martin Orme, 41, was living in Dubai with his wife, Lyka, and their then five-year-old daughter, Isabella, when he felt a severe headache on December 15, 2024.
He awoke at 1am, took three steps out of bed and collapsed.
He was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he was given a cranioscopy, which found he had suffered a haemorrhagic stroke.
Martin was then placed in a coma for 10 weeks and remains unable to walk or speak some 10 months on.
In April 2025, Martin was eventually able to return to the UK to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton where he was treated in ICU for multiple, life-threatening infections.
Martin has been in a stable condition since July and is currently in Moseley Hall Hospital, Birmingham, which specialises in brain injury patients.
Martin’s brother, Carl, 42, quit his job as a senior manager in education to care for Martin and his unsupported family, and is raising funds to purchase equipment that will allow the non-verbal Martin to communicate with his six-year-old daughter and the outside world.
“We are rife with uncertainty about what can or can’t be done for him,” Carl said.
“The reality is, he is unlikely to ever walk again. We’re not sure which parts of him we’ll get back.
“I just want him to be able to interact with his daughter more, she’s such a daddy’s girl.
“She’s doing amazingly at the moment but it will catch up.
“She was unable to visit him during his time in intensive care and now they are barely able to speak.
“They played Connect4, and Martin was dropping the pieces on the floor. You could see her frustration growing. It was really hard and that happens with all games.
“He can’t speak to her, or pick her up and give her a cuddle.”
Martin moved abroad in 2017, eventually settling in Dubai to work in sales, where he met his now wife, Lyka.
In 2019, they welcomed Isabella into the family.
After recovering from surgery following his stroke, in mid-February 2025, Martin suffered from a life-threatening kidney and respiratory infection, which further hampered his recovery.
“Infections like that are part and parcel of being in hospital that long,” Carl said, as Martin’s immune system had been severely weakened, his muscles were deteriorating, and long-term catheters are susceptible to bacterial infection.
Martin was then told by his health insurance company that he would have to self-fund any further medical treatment in Dubai.
“Unless you’re in a senior management role in Dubai, it is a very expensive place to live and it can be hard to make ends meet,” Carl said.
“We realised we’d have to get Martin back to the UK for NHS treatment but since he’d been away for so long it wasn’t straightforward.
“Plus, his wife, Lyka, is Filipino and would need a visa. Then there was the issue of physically transporting him home in his state.
“However, we knew it was something that had to be done.”
Martin was medically repatriated to the UK in April 2025 and he was accepted into New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, near where his parents live.
After a successful course of antibiotics treated his infections, Martin was moved to Moseley Hall Hospital, where he has remained since June, albeit with a brief return to the ICU.
“Moseley Hall has been amazing,” Carl said.
“He does daily rehab, going on an exercise bike which moves his legs for him to try and get some mobility into them.
“The speech team is trying to get him to make specific sounds to get his lips moving, to relearn how to speak.
“If you’re talking to him you’ve got to pay real attention to know what each noise he makes represents.”
A former soldier, Carl was working as a senior manager in education when Martin had his stroke.
In July, he decided to quit to devote his time and energy to supporting Martin, Lyka and Isabella, who is now six.
Carl said: “There’s 18 months between us and we rubbed along as brothers do, I wasn’t really enjoying work and I realised I didn’t want to regret the things I hadn’t done.
“We spend a lot of time together and I’m still treating him like a brother, not feeling sorry for him in front of him, joking with him as usual.
“It all takes hours but it’s my way of doing the best for him. I want to try and give him some quality of life.”
Carl said he wants Martin’s daughter, Isabella, to be able to communicate with him properly, as it is heart-wrenching to see them unable to connect as father and daughter should.
Carl is spending as much time as he can fundraising for his brother, splitting all proceeds between Martin’s fund and the Stroke Association.
This weekend, he will be in Winchester with a bucket; he recently hosted a raffle as well as a charity pub quiz in his local in Wiltshire, too.
In November, he is hosting a charity auction.
“I wrote to over 500 sports teams and businesses asking them to donate items,” Carl said.
“I heard back from about 5 per cent so we have some great things for sale, like a signed Paul Gascoigne framed England shirt and a signed Tom Jones photo and LP.
“We also have support from Olympian athletes like (British runner) Adam Gemili; (double Olympic gold medal winning swimmer) Rebecca Adlington; and (former 400m runner) Jamie Baulch, which is amazing.”
Next year, Carl is planning to run from Land’s End to John O’Groats in a mammoth challenge to boost donations.
His aim is to raise £20,000 to purchase Martin a wheelchair; an environmental device to help control lights, bed and chair and go to the toilet; a speech device; and any other digital aids to allow him to interact with the outside world and improve his quality of life as much as his limitations allow.
He has currently raised £6,000.
He said: “I’m determined to get to £20,000 to give my brother the best life I can. I’m going to fight for every last pound.”
Carl’s fundraiser can be found here: www.gofundme.com/f/buy-an-electric-wheelchair-and-speech-aid-for-martin.
