A Northumberland woman is now out of a coma after undergoing the second part of a major operation which she hopes will save her life.
Melanie Hartshorn suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which causes her skull to dislocate from her neck and spine. The rare condition means she has spent the majority of her life lying down.
The 33-year-old travelled to Barcelona in Spain for the operation, which has to be carried out through her throat, in October last year. However only the first part of the surgery was completed as her body wasn't strong enough.
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Melanie, who lives in Cramlington, has spent the last few months recovering from the first surgery. On Friday (February 10), she underwent the second part of the operation, which is not available on the NHS.
Her PA and carer Leann Duff, 41, announced how Melanie's neurosurgeon, Dr. Vicenç Gilete García, said the surgery went "better than expected" but the next few days would be crucial.
Leann posted on social media (sic): "Mel is out of the induced coma and doing ok although she is in an awful lot of pain. She is struggling to talk and swallow and it is too painful for her to use her phone.
"The surgery took about 10hrs and the surgeon managed to to remove the broken screw by drilling it out he saw where the problem instability was and has put 2 cages in and screws to fix it.
"Mel would like to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes and of course to anyone who has donated she sends a big thank you.
"Mel and Molly owe a lot of money to people who kindly lent it so please keep on with fundraising and donating so that Mel can recover without the additional stress of this."
Prior to the first operation, Melanie's neck and spine had become dangerously unstable. She was kept alive for 18 months by a surgical halo vest which was keeping them in place.
Melanie, who was suffering from seizures, vomiting and pain, said the halo was only a short-term fix and said she needed to raise £100,000 for the operation to fuse her neck to her spine.
More than £84,000 was donated to her Go Fund Me page and a "very kind person" offered her a loan as a last resort to ensure the surgery went ahead.
Following the first surgery in October last year, Melanie was placed into an induced coma on the intensive care unit (ICU) where she recovered for four-and-a-half weeks.
She went on to experience a number of set backs which have included allergic reactions to her tube feed and a tear in her oesophagus. Recent scans also showed broken screws in her thoracic spine, which needed to be removed.
Last month, Melanie's mum Molly Hartshorn was diagnosed with heart failure after falling ill. The 71-year-old is receiving treatment while supporting her daughter in the Spanish city.
Melanie's fundraising total has had to be increased to £165,000 to cover the cost of extra medical care. She has so far received £116,662 in donations.
The money raised will be used to pay for Melanie's second surgery, the cost of her extended stay in ICU and additional treatment. It will also cover the cost of accommodation and pay back loans.
Melanie previously had her neck and spine fused during a major operation in Barcelona in 2017. However four broken titanium screws in her vertebrae have caused the fusions to be unstable.
Melanie previously told Chronicle Live: "I’m relieved my throat's healed and looking forward to it being complete as I’m in agony and completely bed bound at the moment. I can’t wait to finally have a stable spine that doesn’t dislocate so I can get better and get home.
"It’s going to be another tough surgery but I can’t stay like this when I’m deteriorating so rapidly. Hopefully it goes without complications this time!
"It's been a long battle since my original fusion was broken in 2019, and I’m so close now to being able to sit up and having a safe and stable spine again at long last!"
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