A Northumberland woman will now spend Christmas in Spain after suffering a rare complication during her recovery from a life-saving operation.
Melanie Hartshorn suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which causes her skull to dislocate from her neck and spine. The 33-year-old struggles to sit up and, as a result, she has spent the majority of her life lying down.
Melanie, who lives in Cramlington, underwent the first part of a major operation to fuse her neck and spine last month. She managed to raise more than £84,000 for the treatment, which is not available on the NHS.
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Last week, Melanie said she would undergo the second part of the operation in the new year. She planned to return to the UK for the festive season before returning to Barcelona for the second surgery in January 2013.
However, earlier this week, medics discovered that Melanie had a tear in her oesophagus, which has exposed the spine behind. She said her neck brace isn't supporting her and she cannot sit up.
Melanie said she had had "another bump in the road to recovery" and that she would no longer be able to travel back to Northumberland for Christmas.
She posted on Facebook: "So, I found a hole in my oesophagus... leading to my spine... It’s a very rare complication of the surgery as they had to open and stitch shut my Oesophagus to access my spine from the front… and is caused due to me having EDS!
"I’m prone to poor wound healing and the risk of stitches tearing open, despite my team taking precautions such as using padding over the hardware and many small stitches!"
Melanie said she has had an urgent endoscopy which shows that the hole is beginning to heal. However she needs to have a feeding tube fitted, as food can enter her spine when she eats. She she will also need to take antibiotics for at least a month.
Melanie said: "I’m just so relieved that I shouldn’t need an extra major emergency surgery to flush out and repair the hole!!
"So for the next month all my meds, food and drink will be via the tube to allow the hole in my throat to heal, and I’m on antibiotics until it heals too… to treat/prevent infection and have a follow up in a month to see how it’s healing.
"Coming home for Christmas is not going to be possible…. as I can’t sit up and I’m not fit to fly… so we will be staying here in Barcelona."
For the last 18 months, Melanie has been kept alive by a surgical halo vest. Her neck and spine had become dangerously unstable and the halo 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.
She raised more than £84,000 on her Gofundme page and a "very kind person" offered her a loan as a last resort to ensure the surgery went ahead at the beginning of October.
Only the first part of the surgery, which was carried out through her throat, was completed as Melanie's body wasn't strong enough. She was placed into an induced coma on the intensive care unit (ICU) where she recovered from surgery for four-and-a-half weeks. Earlier this month, Melanie had her halo removed and left hospital.
Her fundraising total on her Gofundme page has had to be increased to £150,000 due to the cost of extra medical care. Any money donated 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 her stay in Barcelona and pay back loans.
Melanie, who is currently staying at an apartment in Barcelona, added: "If anyone can support with fundraising it would be a huge help as obviously this is costing more than anticipated!"
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.
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