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Paralysed woman earns uni degree by blinking the answers during exams

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Two weeks after giving birth to her son in 2003, Dawn Faizey Webster suffered a stroke.

The incident left her unable to talk or walk. Besides the slight movement of her head and eye lids, she was completely paralysed.

But her mind remained active.

Inspiring determination

The courageous woman did not let the incident kill her thirst for knowledge.

Six years ago, Ms Webster started on a degree in ancient history using a laptop which translates her eye movements into text, reported Mail Online.

She spent three hours a day on her studies, touching buttons with the side of her head to move the cursor and blinking to get the letters she wanted, reported ITV.

Her fastest writing pace of 50 words per hour meant each three-hour exam took her three weeks to complete, reported The Mirror.

'I am still me'

The 42-year-old recently completed the Open University qualification with honours.

Ms Webster wrote: "When I passed my degree, I was so pleased and proud of myself. I had achieved my goal that I had for six years been striving for and no matter what obstacles were in my way, such as getting pneumonia twice and other lesser illnesses, I was determined to reach my goal.

"When I first had my stroke, I realised I would not be able to do anything physical. I then decided to use the thing that had not been affected and that was my brain.

"I felt I needed to prove to myself and to others that I was still me, Dawn."

She now plans to study for a Masters in History of Art.

Proud of her

Ms Webster, from Staffordshire in the UK, is being cared for by her father, 80, and mother, 75. Her husband left her a few months after the stroke.

Mail Online reported her father as saying: "It's amazing she has managed to do this considering her condition. We are so proud of her. She worked so hard to get there."

Sources: Mail Online, Mirror, ITV

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