Specialists have told the family of a Scots charity chief left paralysed by a mystery illness they may never reach a diagnosis.
Robin Maitland has been taken off the ventilator which has been keeping him alive since he was rushed to the spinal unit at Glasgow Southern General hospital on Christmas Eve, and is now able to spend short spells in a wheelchair.
However, the 58-year-old, a trustee of the Sandpiper Trust medical charity, has regained very little movement and – more than 300 laboratory tests later – experts have yet to come up with an explanation for his condition.
His wife Claire, 55, said experts had established that the inflammation around his cervical spine is probably not as a result of the operation he had on his back on December 18.
But until they identify what has caused his illness, they cannot begin to devise a way to treat it.
Last night Mrs Maitland said the family were “stunned” by the situation they had found themselves in.
“Robin is off the ventilator now, eating and drinking normally, but with minimal movement still which is a killer to watch.
“He is brave and determined but it is so very tough for him and us.
“They have no diagnosis yet and have even said there may never be a diagnosis, so we are pretty stunned.”
She said Mr Maitland, a partner in Strutt and Parker estate agents, had lost three stone in weight since December when he went into Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to have a benign tumour removed from his spine.
The surgery was successful but he woke up in severe pain and suffered respiratory failure soon after.
The businessman from Crathes, near Banchory, in Aberdeenshire, was rushed to intensive care before being transferred to the specialist unit in Glasgow on December 24.
He was kept on a ventilator while neurologists consulted colleagues around the world in an effort to reach a diagnosis.
Mrs Maitland – founder of the Sandpiper Trust, which equips medics to provide pre-hospital care across the north and north-east of Scotland – said her husband had been subjected to 200-300 tests, none of which had provided an answer.
His consultants have taken advice from colleagues around the world, including experts in tropical diseases in Africa, where the couple visited last October, but his plight has mystified the medical profession.
The decision facing experts and his loved ones now is whether to continue his care at the Queen Elizabeth spinal unit in Glasgow, or return him to the north-east – although without a diagnosis it is difficult to know where best to treat him.
The family have been inundated with messages of support from wellwishers – including Annie Lennox, who sent a personal greeting from South Africa at the weekend.
Mrs Maitland said the experience had made them appreciate the importance of the work that the Sandpiper Trust does even more and they were ready to face whatever battles lie ahead.
“We have had the most amazing support from the medical staff here and the Sandpiper community, so on we go,” she said.
“We have faith and determination and that is what will get us through this.”