When Dubbo’s Marie-Therese Khan collapsed in a lunchtime crowd, her doctors offered little hope that she would survive.
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After being diagnosed with locked-in syndrome, the single mother of three young children was sent home to die.
But she and her family had other ideas and for 17 years have proved that love can conquer just about all.
Dubbo watched with awe and affection as they circumnavigated the condition that prevents its victims from moving or communicating verbally.
Marie-Therese’s beautiful eyes became her window to the world and the way to reach three special sons.
Sadly, they have closed for the last time.
A funeral in Dubbo’s St Brigid’s Church from 1pm today will celebrate her inspirational life and legacy.
Before her sudden death she compiled a list of “100 reasons to live”.
“She wanted to inspire others to make the most of what they’ve got,” sister Annette Ryan said yesterday.
Marie-Therese Khan was born in 1959 in Dubbo, where she was raised by parents Irene and the late Barney Khan in their Palmer Street home.
With her younger sister at her elbow, Marie-Therese made friends easily in her neighbourhood and at several Catholic schools where geography was her favourite subject.
After high school, the teenager completed a secretarial course through TAFE before moving to Sydney to take up an internship as a travel consultant.
She would hone her skills and travel the world before returning to Dubbo with a family in tow.
In the early 1990s, after the break-up of her marriage, Marie-Therese bought a home next to her sister’s in Baird Drive and set about raising her children to the best of her ability.
But, in the course of a “normal” day of dropping off kids and working at Macquarie Travel, Marie-Therese’s life was turned upside down. Her collapse after a few days of experiencing neck pain was put down to a “brain stem infarction” that Ms Ryan equates to turning off the body’s “main power board”.
The subsequent diagnosis of locked-in syndrome came with sober medical advice.
“We were told she would die within weeks,” Ms Ryan said.
Then began a daily watch that sustained a treasured life.
Lourdes Hospital and Holy Spirit Dubbo joined the family in providing care, comfort and the opportunity to connect.
When Marie-Therese wasn’t visiting her family, they were at her bedside.
“I believe she survived as long as she did because of a wonderful mother,” Ms Ryan said.
“Mum stayed with her every night till 8pm, for 17 years.”
With support at hand, the mother of three learned to communicate with an “eye computer” that converted her blinking into letters, words and sentences.
Ms Ryan said that despite being “trapped in a totally-paralysed body by a cruel condition”, Marie-Therese remained true to herself and enthusiastic about writing her yet-to-be published memoirs and the lyrics for a CD called Waltzing With My Eyes.
“She was loving, courageous, determined, funny and amazing,” Ms Ryan said.
The sisters were testing out a new eye computer in the hours before Marie-Therese “died in her sleep” early Sunday morning.
Ms Ryan said the family was grateful that Marie-Therese had been granted more time with her children.
The eldest, 24-year-old Luke, is working for a company in Canberra after completing a double degree in commerce and IT.
Blake, 20, is a foreman in Dubbo and 18-year-old Mitchell is studying to be a teacher at university in Wagga Wagga.
“All she ever wanted was to see them grow up and have good lives,” Ms Ryan said.
Marie-Therese Khan is understood to be the longest survivor of locked-in syndrome in the world.
Her friends and admirers will travel from across NSW and interstate to attend today’s funeral where donations to the Stroke Foundation are being requested, in lieu of floral tributes.