A FORMER vet nurse who was struck down by a neurological illness which left her unable to walk says art saved her life.

Brave Alyson Doolan was forced to give up her beloved role with Shore Vets working with animals and visiting schools with a mobile petting zoo.

Her life changed forever during the first pandemic lockdown when she suddenly fell ill, suffered a massive seizure and spent three months in hospital where she had to learn how to move again.

The 47-year-old mum of one was so determined not to give up and turned to her love of art to get back on her feet - setting up an upcycling brand called Storm in a Teacup which has taken off and is already winning awards.

Alyson, of Garvie Avenue in Gourock, said: "My illness started during the first lockdown when I was on furlough from my job and I was at home.

"I began to feel unwell and my vision had started to go a couple of days before.

"Then I lost all co-ordination and started having seizures.

"I was in the house alone with my son Murray, who was only 10 at the time.

"He was amazing and managed to phone an ambulance and I was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital."

As it was during the height of the pandemic, Alyson was alone in the hospital, with no visitors allowed.

She said: "I was on my own, with no family allowed to come with me."

The mum found herself in a state of paralysis, suffering from functional neurological disorder, leaving her unable to co-ordinate or move.

She had no idea if she would ever make a full recovery.

Alyson said: "I spent three months in the hospital slowly learning how to walk again.

"But I have always loved art and creativity and also started to draw in the hospital, to help with my co-ordination.

"It was a way to try to control the tremors I had."

On Alyson's return home she continued to use her creativity to forge a whole new path.

She started to upcycle, making bespoke artworks out of vintage tea sets, turning cups into candles and making her own wax melts.

With the support of her husband John, a care worker with the Quarriers charity, son and her family, including mum Lena Colville, she started to rebuild her life.

The determined mum added: "I absolutely loved my job at Shore Vets, I had worked there for 29 years and knew all the patients, the people.

"They were all like family and I used to love going round the schools with my guinea pigs and seeing the children's reactions.

"But I just couldn't continue and had to find something else that I could do which fits in with what life is like now.

"I did not want to spend the rest of my life sitting at home doing nothing.

"I couldn't have done any of this without my husband and my son and my mum as well, she is brilliant."

Alyson's collections are now in the Original Artists shop on Kempock Street, where she works alongside owner Lisa Keogh and fellow talented artists Marie Wilson, Lucy McLennan and manager Sandra Munford.

Alyson added: "I can't thank Lisa enough for the opportunity to be here along with these incredibly talented people.

"I love finding ways to create and be sustainable.

"I work with vintage tea sets and find new uses for them.

"Doing this is perfect for me, because it means I can work when I feel good and if I need a rest I can, as there are still days when I can no longer do anything."

Earlier this month Alyson was one of the winners of the Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce Icon awards, taking home the prize for sustainability.

She was overwhelmed by the response of family, friends, new customers and people from her time at Shore Vets, lining up to congratulate her.

Alyson said: "I am blown away by it all, it means such a lot."