The mother of a man who almost died after taking cocaine has released a shocking picture of him in hospital as a stark warning to others.

Carl Ayres, then 28, suffered a life-changing stroke just five days after taking cocaine on New Year’s Eve last year.

The super fit ex-marine was left in a coma with doctors warning he would be left paralysed.

At one point, his life support machine was due to be switched off.

Thankfully, he survived, but has been left unable to talk or walk – and his mother Julie Ayres, 50, says she now has to wipe his bottom.

Mrs Ayres said she feels 'broken' over what had happened to her son - and has released the picture of him in hospital as a warning to others considering taking cocaine.

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Carl Ayres suffered a life-changing stroke at 28 after taking cocaine on New Year's Eve. His mother has released a picture of him in hospital as a warning to others considering taking cocaine

Mr Ayres, a fit ex-marine (left) was left in a coma for four days, with doctors warning he may be left paralysed. He survived but is still unable to talk or walk, and is now having rehabilitation (right)

She said: 'It's absolutely heartbreaking.

'He was so active and full of life. He ran his own business. Now I wipe his bum.'

She added: 'Some days I don't want to get out of bed. But I always do. I always act cheerful around him.

'Then when I come out [from visiting him] I break down. I can't stand to see how he is.

'Honestly, I don't think he will get back to normal.'

Mr Ayres took cocaine at a local pub in Farnborough, Hampshire, on New Year's Eve last year.

Then, on January 4, the ex-marine went for a five-mile run, which is believed to have triggered high blood pressure and caused a slow-moving clot to develop.

The next morning, Mr Ayres – who owns a digger company – collapsed at a client's house.

He was taken to accident and emergency in Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey, where he was transferred to intensive care and remained in a coma for four days.

When he finally 'flickered his eyes' open days later, his family was told he was likely to have locked-in syndrome, where the body and facial muscles are paralysed but the person is conscious and able to move their eyes.

They were considering turning off his life support machine, but he began to make progress.

Thankfully, he was not left completely paralysed, and woke up.

He gesticulated to his nose, and his family asked ‘Did you take cocaine?’.

After communicating that he had taken it, doctors did tests and found the drug in his system.

His mother Julie, 50, said she feels 'broken' over what had happened to her son and fears he won't recover

'He was so active and full of life. He ran his own business. Now I wipe his bum,' Mrs Ayres said. Her son is pictured during physiotherapy, where he has already learned to brush his teeth

They told his family they believe it was cocaine – and the substance it was cut with – that caused his nearly-fatal stroke.

Mr Ayres was left unable to speak or walk, and now needs a wheelchair to get around.

He is able to move his arms and feet, and is now in a rehabilitation centre in Southampton, where his mother visits him everyday.

He is undergoing physiotherapy and his family, including father Gary, 56, are hopeful he will return home soon.

Mrs Ayres says her son is determined to defy doctors and walk, although she fears he may need to adjust his expectations.

It's so heartbreaking. He was so active and full of life. Now I wipe his bum Julie Ayres, 50

She said: 'I live in a fantasy world that he will come bouncing through the door,' she admitted. 'That's not going to happen.

'But he is so determined. He typed out, "If it takes me 10 years, I will walk." He has got a lot to accept.'

She added that, as an ex-marine, her son was super fit, training every day and exercising in his spare time.

'He was full of life. Now he is sat in a wheelchair,' she said.

Mrs Ayres, who previously worked in a special needs school, said she wants other to realise how drastically cocaine has affected her son and his family.

'If I can get one other person to realise how it's affected my family and Carl than going public has to be worth it,' she said.

'People think it won't happen to them. Carl is proof it can.

'But I still see people in Farnborough taking cocaine. How close to home do they need it to happen?

'I see them and think, "You selfish little sods. You could put your mother and father though what we're going through".

Mrs Ayres says her son is determined to defy doctors and walk, although Mrs Ayres fears he may need to adjust his expectations. He is pictured with his father Carl, 56, before his stroke

Mr Ayres' immediate family are pictured at his mother's 50th birthday, after he suffered his stroke. From left to right are Sean, Abby, Julie, Carl, Gary, Chase, Anthony

Mrs Ayres admitted she was 'angry' with her son – and would not hesitate to tell him.

She added that although he cannot speak, she can tell her son is sorry.

Although he cannot talk or walk, Mr Ayres is making progress and is now able to brush his teeth.

Mrs Ayres continued: 'They've tried to get him to walk, but he can't.

'He can't roll over in bed. He was active lad and this is devastating.'

A 2014 study found cocaine use dramatically increases the risk of strokes in young people.

Dr Yu-Ching Cheng, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said: 'Cocaine is not only addictive, it can also lead to disability or death from stroke.

'With few exceptions, we believe every young stroke patient should be screened for drug abuse at the time of hospital admission.

'If I can get one other person to realise how it's affected my family and Carl than going public has to be worth it,' Mrs Ayres said. 'People think it won't happen to them. Carl is proof it can'

'Despite the strong stroke risk associated with acute cocaine use, in our study only about one-third of young stroke patients had toxicology screenings done during hospitalisation.

'We think the percentage of cocaine use could be higher than we've reported.

'The study set out to understand what factors contribute to stroke risk in young adults.

'Cocaine use is one of the risk factors we investigated and we were surprised at how strong an association there is between cocaine and stroke risk in young adults.

'We found the stroke risk associated with acute cocaine use is much higher than some other stroke risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.'

Researchers compared 1,101 people aged 15 to 49 who had strokes between 1991 and 2008 to 1,154 people of similar ages in the general population.

The family are fundraising for Mr Ayres to go to Moscow, Russia, and receive stem cell treatment which they hope could help him.

To donate to his treatment, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/3nawpgy4