WALKING unaided by the end of the year is the goal for Mekala Osborne, a personal trainer from Wallyford who almost died while on holiday in Vietnam in 2019 and has defied all the odds since.
Mekala, 23, was travelling through South East Asia with a friend in the autumn of 2019 when she became seriously ill.
The former Preston Lodge High School pupil then spent the next 15 months recovering from necrotising pneumonia and was at one point given just a five per cent chance of survival. Her family were told to “expect the worst”.
At hospitals in Vietnam, Singapore and Edinburgh, she underwent intense treatment for the life-threatening illness, which included invasive surgery on one lung that had fully collapsed.
Her mum Yvonne McAulay, who works as a bus driver for Harlawhill Day Care Centre in Prestonpans, flew out to be by her daughter’s side while she was receiving treatment in Asia.
In November 2019, Mekala was flown home to Manchester and transported by ambulance to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
In March last year, she was transported to the Astley Ainslie Hospital, also in Edinburgh, for further treatment.
During her stay at the Astley Ainslie, Mekala underwent gruelling rehabilitation, including learning to walk as she spent nearly 300 days lying down after becoming ill.
She was also previously told she might never walk again. From the pneumonia she developed muscular neuropathy during the two weeks she was in a coma. Her muscles went to sleep and deteriorated as her body was using all of its energy for her vital organs.
In July last year, a video was shared of Mekala taking her first steps. She used a frame, with two members of staff helping move her legs while another followed behind with a wheelchair.
After her stay in rehab, Mekala was finally able to return to the family home, where brother Danny also lives, on Dury Way on December 14, welcomed by a crowd of 150 friends and neighbours.
READ MORE: Mekala Osborne returns home
And now, Mekala has shared a video on social media of her walking from the front door of the house to a car parked on the road opposite with her only assistance being holding her mum’s hand.
After she successfully reaches the car, mum Yvonne claps and also has a little dance.
Mekala then opens the car door herself and appears to begin to sit inside.
She said: “2021 goal – say goodbye to the crutches and to be able to do the slosh. PS my mum’s clap at the end is the cutest thing ever.”
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