TV and stage actress Paula Lane who starred in Coronation Street backs appeal to help Calderdale mum 'in sheer hell' after daughter left seriously ill by extreme reaction to medication

Ryley Nixon, from Hebden Bridge, used to be a normal, lively young but the 20-year-old has spent the last two years seriously ill after the reaction that is so far baffling UK doctors.

Her mum, Trish Clemit, has now launched a fundraising campaign to pay for Ryley to see a specialist in America which has been shared by former Coronation Street star Paula Lane.

Paula, who recently toured the country with Northern Broadsides Theatre Company’s production of Quality Street and who runs drama school Shaw Lane Academy with her husband Tom Shaw, said Ryley is a former student of the stage school.

"We have fabulous memories of her flourishing,” she posted on her social media.

"Tom and I were both truly shocked to hear she’s been so unwell for the last two years after experiencing a serious reaction to medication.

"We have been truly inspired by Ryley and her mother’s fight when reading her fundraising page.

"We are going to look at how we can help Ryley through the academy – but in the meantime, if you can give anything please help this family.”

Ryley’s ordeal began in August 2021 when Trish says she had “the most horrendous” reaction to a medication, which “gave her a headache like no other”.

She was rushed to A and E where she collapsed on the floor, vomiting and writhing in pain.

"Ryley said she had pins and needles in her hands and feet, and felt like her entire body was vibrating,” said Trish.

"Misdiagnosis followed misdiagnosis for a year, eventually forcing me to London where a top private specialist concurred that Ryley had been on her way to having a cerebral venous sinus stroke - a rare kind of stroke that can kill outright.

"Fortunately, Ryley survived this, however, she has had life-changing, debilitating symptoms and conditions since this day and our life as we knew it has been unrecognisable.”

Ryley has been left with six conditions including an overproduction of cerebral spinal fluid which presses on her brain and cause blindness; a permanent, debilitating headache, back pain and severe chronic fatigue.

"Even being pushed out in a wheelchair for 10 minutes is too much for her,” explained Trish. “Her quality of life is very very poor.

"As a parent, I have been in sheer hell, going from medic to medic only for Ryley's complex condition to often be misunderstood, denied, and even gaslighted.

"After spending many thousands of pounds over the last two years, personal finances are seriously under pressure. I am looking to raise funds to pay for Ryley to see a specialist in the US.

"I have established that he understands the complexity of Ryley's condition. Funding will pay for him to carry out genetic and other blood tests that aren't available in the UK.

"The ultimate aim is for him to design a medication treatment regime with the hope it will calm her autoimmune system and give her her life back.”

To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ryley-fight-to-get-her-life-back