A student who woke up from a coma completely blind says she thought she just had food poisoning – and doctors still don’t known why she lost her sight.
Jay Walker was convinced she had a stomach bug after first becoming unwell on Thanksgiving.
But what seemed like a minor health issue quickly escalated into a terrifying medical emergency.
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Within weeks, Jay was vomiting blood and suffering constant diarrhoea while struggling to stay awake.
“I had no idea what it would turn into,” the now 22-year-old, from Missouri, in the US, told Need To Know.
“I had no idea I should’ve been scared.”
Jay’s mum rushed her to hospital after the mysterious condition rapidly worsened.
While waiting in the emergency room, her hands began to swell and she lost consciousness.
She then developed a purple rash on her face and was rushed to the intensive care unit.
Doctors decided to carry out emergency eye surgery to relieve the dangerously high pressure levels in her eyes.
She was then placed into a coma and remained unconscious for three days.
But when she finally woke up, she couldn’t see – and doctors said the surgery had not worked.
They then delivered the devastating news that she would never be able to see again.
Jay can remember the moment she was given the life-changing news.
She said: “They sat me down and told me my vision wasn’t coming back.
Jay Walker in hospital. (Picture: Jam Press)
“I screamed for a while, kicked everyone out of the room and sat with my mom and sisters.
“After about five minutes, I was in so much shock that I started popping out jokes.
“I asked my mom if we could go to Costco to swindle some free samples from the bakery and other things like that.
“It was strange, but going blind – I initially didn’t believe it would be that hard.
“I believed I would be good at it and I would be successful.
“I didn’t realise how difficult doing basic tasks like eating or showering would be.”
Despite extensive testing, doctors were never able to figure out what caused the medical episode that led to Jay losing her sight.
And Jay, who was 15 at the time, still doesn’t have a diagnosis to this day.
She remained in hospital for just over two weeks as she adjusted to the devastating reality that she would never see again.
But Jay says the real struggle came when she was discharged and went home.
Simple, everyday tasks became overwhelming and she even consider taking her own life at one point.
She said: “Physically, adjusting to blindness was taxing.
“I was being shuffled between tests and scans and blood draws, so I was exhausted.
“The exhaustion allowed me to compartmentalise the trauma and I was able to push it down while I needed to focus on surviving.
“I was hopeful upon arriving to my house – I reunited with my dog, slept in my own bed and ate real food.
“Emotionally, I was struggling to grasp the idea that I would ever live independently.
“There was a time after I couldn’t eat an egg – a damn egg – that I considered ending everything.
“I was destroying myself over the idea of not being able to live on my own, to be my own person.
“Because of this, I became unbelievably motivated to become independent.”
Determined to take control, Jay returned to high school just months after losing her sight.
There, she balanced studies at her local school with specialist training at the Kansas State School for the Blind.
But while she adjusted quickly to braille and mobility training, she says the social isolation was brutal.
She said: “Honestly, the biggest challenge was social.
“Kids stared at me while I walked down the hallway and no one talked to me.
“Kids would run into me in the hallway and knock my cane from my hands and just keep going.”
While studying at college in February 2023, Jay says the emotional impact of her sudden blindness finally caught up with her.
She suffered a mental breakdown and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD.
She said: “I started considering if I was worth anything, if I was amounting to anything.
Jay Walker in hospital. (Picture: Jam Press)
“Many of the thoughts in my head had to do with the fact that I would never see again.
“I would never see my mom before she died, never see my future husband or see my sisters’ kids.
“I would never see myself in a wedding dress or see myself in a graduation gown.
“It was over for me and I was exhausted with trying to pretend like I was okay with being blind.
“Honestly, I had spent the previous five years trying to survive, trying to grasp life, so I never even thought about how traumatising the actual event was.”
As she finally came to terms with her blindness, Jay started sharing her story on TikTok where she gained millions of views.
She now plans to write a memoir, move into her own apartment and get a guide dog.
Jay Walker in hospital. (Picture: Jam Press)
She said: “Blindness does not define my worth or my abilities and I find myself learning something new every day.
“I still struggle with some things, of course. Sometimes it does hit me that this is permanent, that I will truly never see again, and that hurts.
“Then, I remind myself of everything I’ve learned, all the people I’ve met, and the perspective I’ve gained, and it seems to fade a bit.
“What I have learned through my short time of being blind is that life is worth the wait.
“There’s going to be trauma and hardship and loss and grief, but it’s worth the wait to find out what comes next.”
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