For Melanie Hartshorn, the situation is as grave as it gets - raise £100,000 by October for vital surgery on her spine or die.
To make matters worse, if that is possible, a 'halo' brace keeping her alive is currently broken leaving her prone to seizures and nausea with the smallest of movements.
Melanie, 32, from Cramlington, Northumberland, said: "This operation offers me the last chance of having a life."
