A father-of-two who suffered a devastating stroke mid-flight to a dream family holiday has been left stuck in Malaysia after collapsing in front of his wife and daughters on the plane.
Now left picking up the pieces, wife Noor Haris, 55, a medical doctor from Malaysia living in Newcastle, has spoken for the first time about the terrifying ordeal that turned a long-awaited summer holiday into a life-altering nightmare.
Her husband, Mohd, 51, suffered a stroke just hours before their British Airways flight from Newcastle to Kuala Lumpur was due to land on July 4. He collapsed in front of their two daughters, aged 16 and 18.
Recalling the harrowing experience to MailOnline, Noor said: ‘It was around 6am, I had gone to get a drink and my husband needed the toilet. That’s when he fell on to the floor and collapsed.
‘He could not move his left arm or leg, they were completely dead. That’s when we realised he was having a stroke.’ A GoFundMe has now been launched to help support Noor and her family.
The family had boarded the British Airways flight on July 3 at 5:30pm from Newcastle, via London Heathrow, heading to Malaysia for their children’s school holidays.
The trip was meant to bring respite after a gruelling few months. Mohd had suffered his first stroke in March 2025 and had spent two months recovering in hospital.
With medical clearance to fly and using a walking stick, the family felt optimistic.
Noor’s husband, Mohd, had suffered his first stroke in March 2025 and had spent two months recovering in hospital
Mohd is now stuck in a hospital in Kuala Lumpur after suffering a second stroke while on a flight from Newcastle to Malaysia via Heathrow
Wife Noor Haris, 55, a medical doctor from Malaysia living in Newcastle, has spoken for the first time about the terrifying ordeal that turned a long-awaited summer holiday into a life-altering nightmare
But in the early hours over Asia, disaster struck again.
‘I kept telling the crew: “He’s having a stroke, he’s definitely had a stroke”,’ Noor said.
Displaying extraordinary calm under immense pressure, Noor, a full-time working doctor, cared for her husband with the help of compassionate BA crew and a fellow doctor on board.
An anonymous medical professional came and assessed and reviewed Noor’s husband. They also carried out checks on him every half-an-hour to ensure his condition was not worsening.
Staff provided clean pajamas, and despite the harrowing situation, Noor managed to clean him up and settle him back into his seat.
‘When we got him back again to his seat, at that point there was some discussion about trying to divert the flight,’ she said.
‘Even though unfortunately he could not move his left arm or leg he was otherwise stable. They checked his blood pressure and everything and they were all okay so the decision was made to continue the journey.’
Speaking of the devastating moment Mohd collapsed in the plane’s narrow aisle, Noor admitted she ‘blanked out everything because I knew in my mind what was going on.
‘I’m also a medical doctor so with my knowledge I did not panic, but the girls, they were sat in front of us, and when they heard that their dad had collapsed they turned around but I couldn’t even look at their faces.
‘I was totally unaware of what everybody else was thinking or doing. A couple of passengers did offer to try and help to lift him up,’ she added.
Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, paramedics were waiting on the tarmac, having been alerted by the crew.
Noor expressed her relief that due to the urgency of the situation, the family managed to get through immigration, board an ambulance and reach a local A&E in under an hour.
‘I was quite lucky at the time because I had my two daughters with me and was giving them specific instructions about what to do.
Noor expressed her relief that due to the urgency of the situation, the family managed to get through immigration, board an ambulance and reach a local A&E in under an hour.
‘As soon as we arrived he was wheeled in, they put a cannula in his arm and went straight for a CT scan.’
The scans confirmed a new stroke – a right pontine infarct and left parieto-occipital infarct. He now suffers from left-sided weakness and is being tube-fed due to the risk of aspiration.
‘As soon as they confirmed it was not bleeding, we were transported to a neighbouring hospital which actually happened to be a special stroke unit.’
Noor said that the entire ordeal happened quickly and the decision was made that he was not a candidate for any immediate intervention. He was admitted to the hospital then and has been there ever since.
While doctors in Malaysia have identified him as a strong candidate for intensive rehabilitation, the family’s life has been thrown into limbo.
Meant to fly back on July 22, Noor has remained in hospital with her husband 24/7, unable to leave his side, while their daughters stay with relatives.
‘He has improved movement in his left arm and leg but obviously its limited what he can do with his hands and his walking is not good.
‘Doctors are also trying to adjust his medication for his high blood pressure and diabetes,’ she said.
Noor is also highly concerned about Mohd’s deteriorating mental health following his sickness.
‘He can’t do much, he struggles to do his buttons and pick things up so even just dressing himself is a challenge,’ she said.
‘He’s very, very depressed. He keeps saying he ruined everything, that it’s all his fault. But I keep telling him: “It’s not. It’s not your fault.”
‘He’s feeling really down as well, because he knows that it’s very unlikely he’ll be able to drive and he used to do the school run for the girls.’
The sudden crisis has now left Noor grappling with the emotional and financial toll.
‘I’m supposed to be back at work on July 24,’ she added. ‘But now I’m having to negotiate, because I don’t know when we’ll be able to fly home.’
Noor has been liaising with her husband’s consultants in the UK to try and work out the safest time for the pair to journey back to Newcastle.
‘There’s also the uncertainty with the girls – one will be starting university, and they are both waiting for school results,’ Noor said.
‘So there is that dilemma as to whether I should let them go back on their own. But that will mean splitting up the family,’ she added.
With medical clearance to fly and using a walking stick, Mohd felt optimistic prior to the nightmare flight earlier this month
A GoFundMe has now been launched to help support Noor and her family as they face growing costs for living expenses, potential repatriation, and their daughters’ education.
The fundraiser reads: ‘Noor has always been a pillar of strength – for her family, and for everyone around her. Now, I hope we can be her support.
‘Please consider donating whatever you can. No contribution is too small, and even if you’re unable to give, your prayers and sharing this fundraiser are just as meaningful.
‘Let’s come together as a community to show Noor and her family that they’re not alone.’
Despite the trauma, Noor is full of praise for British Airways staff.
‘They were absolutely very supportive, very professional, very, very good,’ she said.
‘I appreciate that according to their protocol they should have diverted but I think I know this was the right thing to do, potentially, he probably had a clot that caused his stroke, but by the time we got to Malaysia the clot had actually probably moved because when they scanned him they could not see the clot.’
For now, the family’s future remains uncertain – but Noor remains at her husband’s side, quietly and determinedly holding it all together.
MailOnline has approached British Airways for comment.
