A mother living with “burning” back pain for over a year since she moved a box mere inches has been in and out of hospital since and says she feels guilty for not being capable of spending quality time with her seven-year-old daughter, who she cannot carry or play with as a result.
Stevie Rider, 31, who gets called “too polite and nice”, has been bounced backwards and forwards between doctors and hospitals ever since she hurt her back when picking up a box of clothes that “wasn’t even heavy” at the Next warehouse where she works in April last year.
Even popping to the shop or running an errand has become an ordeal for Stevie, who, despite having been for an ultrasound and MRI scan, still does not know why she is in so much pain and has to call on her neighbours for help when her daughter Eden falls over.
The scans revealed she has a lipoma, also known as a benign tumor, in her lower back, but these are usually harmless and do not require treatment.
Desperate for answers, Stevie’s sister Courtney has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise £10,000 for her to receive private treatment.
Stevie, who lives with her partner Robert Marley, 30, said “some of the time I’m in that much pain that I don’t even want to go out” while Eden “doesn’t understand”.
“I can just about walk but I can’t run at all, and it sounds really silly, but it has a knock-on effect on everything,” she said.
“It makes me feel really guilty because I’m her mum and I should be able to do things with her.
“It’s obviously not my fault, but to a seven-year-old child, she doesn’t understand that.”
Stevie’s ordeal began when she moved a box containing clothes in a awkward manner and started feeling pain in her back.
“It was barely anything, it wasn’t even heavy, I think it was more to do with how I got hold of it,” she said.
“It was such a tiny movement and I felt a little pain, but didn’t think anything of it and just kept going.”
A few weeks later Stevie went bowling with her family, which she acknowledges was probably a “stupid decision”, and suddenly collapsed.
“I went to bowl a ball and my whole leg just gave way,” she said.
“Then my leg went numb, it was a really strange feeling.”
Even after returning home, Robert was forced to carry Stevie into the house and take her to the bathroom because she could not stand on her leg.
She dialled 111 and was told to go straight to Bradford A&E.
“I was there for around 11 hours but all they wanted was a urine sample,” she said.
“They just gave me some painkillers and said ‘go home’, but I knew something was not right.”
A friend of Stevie’s suggested she have a back scan but she says the hospital did not think “it was necessary”, and suggested it could simply be a pulled muscle.
The pain did not let up and Stevie returned to the doctor to see a physio, but again was told they could not do anything without knowing what was wrong with her.
Stevie was eventually referred to have an ultrasound scan in September 2022, after which she received a text message saying it was “a harmless lipoma”.
Lipomas are slow-growing, fatty lumps, usually located under the skin, which are harmless and usually do not cause any pain or require treatment.
“They told me I could put in a request to have it removed,” said Stevie.
“I was like ‘if it’s just a case of they can cut this lump out of my back and I can go back to normal, then let’s do it’.”
However, because Stevie’s lump was so close to her spine, doctors recommended she have an MRI before they proceeded to cut it out.
“It was just a waiting game again,” said Stevie.
Stevie went for an MRI scan on December 5 last year and was referred to Leylands Musculoskeletal Clinic, but again the doctors were unable to shed any light on the matter.
“I took my sister with me because everyone says I’m too polite and too nice,” said Stevie.
“But I’m not crazy, I know there’s something wrong with me.”
In October 2022 she was forced to go on long-term sick leave and has not been able to return to work, although she is still employed at the company, where she has been working for 13 years.
“I still try and push myself because I’m not the kind of person to just sit down and give up,” she said.
“But it can be the simplest or littlest thing like needing something form the shop.
“My leg just burns and feels really heavy.
“Sometimes even just picking my foot up off the floor can be such a big effort in itself.”
The MRI scan found that Stevie has an episacral lipoma in her lower back and she suffers from disk desiccation, the dehydration of discs between the vertebrae in the spine.
While Stevie has become accustomed to the pain, it prevents her from playing outside with her daughter Eden.
“Some of my friends have children and they will suggest going to the farm or taking the kids trampolining,” she said.
“Even kicking a ball around at the park or picking her up is impossible.
“If she’s playing out in the street and falls over and Robert’s not at home, our neighbours come and help me.”
Despite all the setbacks, Stevie has not given up hope of finding a cure.
“I’m in a lot of pain but I’ve had it for so long that it’s sort of becoming normal,” she said.
Meanwhile Stevie’s sister Courtney has set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for private treatment, aiming to raise £10,000 to cover the consultation, operation and aftercare.
“Up until this point the doctors are saying that I don’t need anything doing,” said Stevie.
“I am genuinely overwhelmed by the support from my sister and everyone else.
“I always get emotional when I talk about it – so don’t ask me because I will cry.”
To find out more about Stevie’s fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/stevie-get-a-private-consultation-for-surgery.
