A healthy and active beautician has been left paralysed and 'in agony' after a twinge in her back led to a life-changing diagnosis. Jodie Cox, 26, went to A&E in the midst of the Covid pandemic complaining of back pain.
After an examination, doctors reportedly told the salon manager that she could be suffering from kidney stones before sending her home with a straight-forward diagnosis of acid reflux. But soon after, the pain became excruciating and Jodie was forced to return to the hospital where she was 'sent home again'.
In the depths of the UK's third lockdown, on January 21, 2021, Jodie, from Telford, found herself struggling to stand. Along with her boyfriend, Luke Watson, she made another urgent trip to A&E, walking into the hospital for the last time - reports Birmingham Live.
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“One night she started to lose feeling in her legs so I took her to A&E, she was stumbling into the hospital and I had to support her," said Luke. "She never walked back out of A&E. She was transferred to Oswestry Hospital where they discovered a tumour in her spine.”
Jodie was given the devastating news that she had an aggressive type of osteosarcoma - a form of bone cancer. Within 18 hours she lost all feeling in both legs and was paralysed from the waist down. The cancer had led to a T10 incomplete spinal cord injury. Medics also found small tumours in her lung.
The once active and fun-loving 26-year-old, who loved walking her mother-in-law’s dogs, now faced the prospect of never being able to walk again. Due to strict coronavirus restrictions, she was alone when she received the diagnosis.
Her partner, who has since given up his job as a contractor to care for her, said: “It all happened very fast. She FaceTimed me and my mum to tell us about the tumour then we didn’t hear from her for the rest of the day as she was rushed to surgery. It was incredibly difficult.
“When she first got the news from the doctors she went into shock, by the time she told us she was a little bit numb. I was distraught and my mum had a panic attack.”
She was transferred to a hospital in Manchester for six rounds of an intensive course of chemotherapy and remained in hospital for five months. She is currently in hospital undergoing her second course of treatment. Before her life flipped upside down, Jodie and Luke had been looking forward to buying a home together, getting married and starting a family. She was also forced to give up her job and passion for beauty therapy.
"Adjusting to life with paralysis has been incredibly difficult for Jodie, there’s more to it than not being able to walk”, Luke added. "She also suffers from nerve pain which is probably the worse part of it, she’s in absolute agony from the waist down. It feels like her legs are on fire and she can’t move.
"She has to rely on me a lot now, I had to leave my job to take care of her. She has physiotherapy which has been helping with her independence, bone density and strength as well as increasing her chance of recovery. She can feel temperature and began moving her toes recently but doctors have said it’s unlikely she will ever walk again.”
Speaking from hospital while undergoing treatment, Jodie told BlackCountryLive: “I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without all the support around me, especially from Luke, family and friends. That’s what keeps you going the most, when you are down they pick you back up again, the people that you have around you make the biggest difference.
“If anyone is going through a similar thing and want to reach out to have someone to talk to, or ask questions, I want them to be able to reach out to me, it helps you feel like you are not alone. I’m looking forward to getting back to normality, not having to live in hospitals and not think about being sick all the time and live how I used to live before.”
A spokesperson for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases, we always endeavour to provide the highest possible standard of care to those we serve and, for where we may not have lived up to this, we have comprehensive and rigorous processes in place. We will always ensure a full and thorough investigation is undertaken on any concerns a patient has about their treatment and, through this, we will seek to address any issues raised.”
