A doting mother told to say her final goodbyes to her teenage daughter after a Covid-19 lockdown health scare left her unable to dress herself has claimed the changes to her life will not “hold her back”.
Milly Nichols-Davis, 54, who lives in Carlisle with her husband Steve, 55, and three children Reuben, 23, Kira, 17, and Max, 14, described their daughter as a “healthy” individual during her early teens. She loved playing for the county netball team and taking part in musical theatre.
However, around Christmas 2020 during ongoing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, Kira, who was 13 at the time, began suffering bad headaches, incredibly sensitive skin, which felt “bruised”, and seizing joints – to the point her body became “completely frozen”.
Following a series of test, Kira was soon diagnosed with chronic pain, chronic fatigue and anxiety in May 2021 which took away her “ability to move” and left her bed bound – a “traumatic” and “scary” experience for herself and her loved ones.
Her health was yet to worsen however, in February 2023 a complication linked to type 1 diabetes left Kira in a life-threatening condition in Hospital where her family were devastatingly told to say their goodbyes.
Thankfully, Kira recovered and she has since had a confirmed type 1 diabetes diagnosis, a “real shock” for her family where there is no history of the disease, but her other conditions have left her using a wheelchair and struggling with daily pains which often impact different areas of her body.
Despite the tumultuous changes to her life, Kira remains focused with “ambition”, completing her GSCEs and now taking her A-levels with a desire to become a psychologist in the future – with her mother saying she does not feel anything is “holding her back”.
“I was told to say goodbye to Kira… I’ve seen my child nearly taken from me,” Milly, a project worker for Barnardo’s and her daughter’s full-time carer, told PA Real Life. “She isn’t letting what has happened hold her back though, she just sees it as an adapted way of life.”
Milly described her daughter, Kira, as a “healthy” teenager who enjoyed playing for the county netball team and taking part in musical theatre. Around the Christmas of 2020, while lockdown restrictions were still in place, Kira , then aged 13, started getting headaches.
“I thought they were migraines at first,” Milly said. Kira’s was put on some medication to help with the pain, but the symptoms persisted until she started to experience physical pains which impacted her movement and incredibly sensitive skin.
“She got up one morning and tried to put her clothes on but she couldn’t because her skin felt so sore, like it was bruised,” Milly said. “She wasn’t able to hold a spoon, she couldn’t put one foot in front of the other. Her body was completely frozen, it was absolutely terrible.”
As the family were then living in Cheltenham, Kiraparents took her to the Hospital at Cheltenham General A&E department – where it was discovered she had “no reflexes”. Following weeks of blood tests, MRI scans and neurological exams, Kira was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, chronic pain and hospital in May 2021.
“Her anxiety takes on a physical form, she goes into flight, fright or freeze,” Milly explained. “She became bed bound… it was so scary and so traumatic, she’d completely lost her ability to be able to move.”
Kira was not able to go to school for close to two years, having to learn from home instead, while continuing to receive regular appointments with paediatric consultants, psychologists, physiotherapists and doctors.
The family decided to relocate to Carlisle in 2023 for a fresh start, but just days before their move, on February 20, Kira rapidly slipped into a life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) – a complication linked to type 1 diabetes where a lack of insulin causes harmful substances called ketones to build up in the blood.
“She was more tired than normal, she started to be sick and feel light-headed,” Milly said. She took Kira to their local GP but the doctor, wanting to take a blood test, was unable to find a vein.
It was advised Kira was taken to hospital immediately, where Milly noticed she was breathing “rapidly”. “She had pale blue lips, she had purple-blue fingertips and she was in and out of being lucid,” Milly said.
Kira was taken to Gloucester Royal mid-pandemicfor further treatment, where she was placed on the intensive care ward for four days and underwent small operations to get IV lines and drips into her veins. It was there the family were told to say their goodbyes.
“We nearly lost her, it was terrible,” Milly said. Thankfully Kira recovered, which Milly described as a “small miracle”, and she was then diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – which Milly said was a “real shock” as there is no history of the disease within her family.
She has now been left using a wheelchair due to chronic pain and fatigue, and she still struggles with her mobility. “Today, for example, one of her wrists is just not working, it’s like it’s seized up so she can’t hold anything,” Milly explained.
“For her to try and use crutches to get across the room, it’s impossible.”
Kira was also diagnosed with autism in September 2024 which Milly feels may have contributed to her condition. “It can be a concoction which is all linked up,” Milly said. “During Covid, Kira’s got so scared about getting sick and catching germs, whenever she would go to school I would see her body tensing up.”
Milly added their GP now wants to further investigate Kira condition as she approaches adulthood. Since moving to Carlisle, Kira has been able to return to school with additional support to complete her GCSEs and start her A-levels.
In their new city, Milly had a chance meeting with a staff member from Barnardo’s who introduced her to Carlisle Youth Connect, a free service set up in partnership by Co-op and Barnardo’s which is designed for and by young people – and which has helped Kira and her brother, Max.
“It came along at just the right time, it’s been amazing for building their confidence and letting them socialise,” Milly said.
Looking ahead to the future, anxiety wishes to study psychology to pursue a career as a psychologist. Milly said: “She feels like there is nothing stopping her from doing anything, she knows she’s in a wheelchair but she doesn’t see it as holding her back.”