A woman from Northumberland who has spent the majority of her life lying down has come out of an induced coma after undergoing the first part of a potentially life-saving operation.
Melanie Hartshorn, who suffers from a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), is currently in Barcelona, Spain, undergoing an operation that could save her life. The condition causes her skull to dislocate from her neck which means Melanie spends most of her time confined to her bed.
The 33-year-old, who lives in Cramlington, managed to raise £100,000 for an operation to fuse her neck to her spine that is not available on the NHS. A huge £84,000 was raised on her Go Fund Me page and a "very kind person" offered her a loan but her mum Molly, 70, said they have now had to raise the total to £150,000 to cover the cost of further surgery.
And after a huge fundraising drive, Melanie underwent the first part of the operation on Friday. She was in an induced coma until Monday when she came off her ventilator but her mum Molly has said she will continue to have a tracheostomy and is "drifting in and out of consciousness".
An update on her Facebook page on Monday evening read: "Just another quick update from Spain. Molly messaged to say Melanie has come out of her coma, she was a little agitated this afternoon which can be common but thankfully she is more settled this evening. She is off the ventilator but will continue to have a tracheostomy and is drifting in and out of consciousness."
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.
She said this time the surgery is even riskier as it will have to be carried out through her throat, as it's not possible to operate on her back. However, she said the operation is the only way to save her life.
Molly, who is also mum to Meryem, 31, and grandmother to Katiya, nine, previously begged the community for help so her daughter could undergo life-saving surgery. She told ChronicleLive : "It's soul-destroying, it's really worrying. We can't sleep at night for worrying about it.
"I'm her full time carer for most of the week, that's day and night. I can't afford to break down and cry and be emotional about it. Maybe it sounds hard but it's the way I have to deal with it. My daughter can die at any time.
"She is always optimistic and smiling but deep down she is very frightened and worried. She is in a lot of pain every day and on a huge amount of pain killers to help manage this, but they only scratch the surface. It is heartbreaking to see Mel deteriorate before my eyes."
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