After suffering a stroke at a young age, former teacher Dawn Faizey-Webster has not let the fact that she can no longer move or talk as a result hold her back, as she has recently gained a degree. 

Dawn suffers from locked-in syndrome, which means that she can only communicate by blinking and making small movements with her head, but she still thinks, feels, sees and hears everything the same as anyone else would. 

She first developed the condition after the birth of her son in 2008, and according to ITV News, things were very bleak at the start, with doctors even telling her husband to prepare for the worst.

However, she eventually made a breakthrough and was diagnosed with the syndrome, which allowed her to start making preparations to live her life in a whole new way. Using a specialised laptop that translates the movements of her eyes into text, Dawn was able to communicate again and decided to undertake a course of study with the Open University, and after six years of hard work, she has finally earned a 2:2 degree in Ancient History. 

As Dawn stated, there were plenty of difficulties on the road to reaching this point, but she was determined that nothing would hold her back: 

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

Dawn's maximum typing speed is 50 words per hour, so the exams were particularly taxing, with each three-hour test taking her nearly three weeks to complete, but getting her degree has been an experience that she enjoyed, so much so that she's already planning to tackle a Masters in the History of Art. 

Via ITV News. Main pic via BBC 5 Live