A devastated mum has begged the community for help so her daughter can undergo life-saving surgery.
Molly Hartshorn said her daughter Melanie could die if she doesn't manage to raise almost £64,000 in the next three weeks. The 33-year-old has a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which causes her skull to dislocate from her neck and spine.
Melanie spends most of her time confined to her bed as she struggles to sit up. She is being kept alive by a surgical halo vest which she wears 24 hours a day. However the halo is only a short term solution and is currently broken.
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Melanie, who lives in Cramlington, Northumberland, needs to raise £100,000 for an operation in which her neck will be fused to her spine. Her surgery is scheduled to take place on October 4 this year in Barcelona, Spain.
Melanie has managed to raise £36,404 via her Go Fund Me page called 'Melanie's Mission to Live'. However she still needs another £63,596 in order to undergo the procedure next month.
Molly, 70, said: "It's soul-destroying, it's really worrying. We can't sleep at night for worrying about it. The only thing keeping her alive is this halo which breaks. It's broken in one place so far which is causing big problems.
"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 heart-breaking to see Mel deteriorate before my eyes.
"The fears of internal decapitation are real. People have died from it, there was a guy not so long ago who has died. It's not a made up fear, it's a real fear.
"With only three weeks to go what is she going to do? Raising the money is just so difficult. People are very kind and very generous but they have their own problems at the moment."
Melanie has lived the majority of her life lying down due to the condition, which causes all of her joints to dislocate - especially those in her spine and neck.
Bedbound Melanie graduated from Newcastle University in July 2016 while on a stretcher. She was able to sit up for the first time 2017 after having her neck and spine fused during a nine-hour operation. The surgery, which was not available on the NHS, was to be carried out in Barcelona, Spain.
However four broken titanium screws in her vertebrae have caused the fusions to be unstable. Melanie's surgeon fitted her with a surgical halo to keep her alive but it is a temporary, short-term measure.
Molly, who is also mum to Meryem, 31, and grandmother to Katiya, nine, said: "It is screwed into her skull and is the only thing keeping her alive and breathing, but is broken and not a long term solution.
"She has gone from being very social and out and about three to four times a week, while studying her degree, graduating and volunteering in schools, to barely being able to leave the house once a week. She spends all day and night in her bed, lying on her back, she eats, sleeps and washes flat on her back in bed. In a surgical halo 24/7.
"She doesn't complain at all but I know in the dark of night she does get upset about her terrible situation."
Molly and Melanie are desperately trying to raise money so she can undergo a second operation to fuse her neck to her spine. This time, the surgery will have to be carried out through her throat as it is not possible to operate on her back.
Molly, who previously worked as a resident social worker, said: "It's a last resort this operation. It's a last resort because they have to go in through the front. They have to be really careful. They have assigned this operation especially for her.
"However after searching the world for help and finding no one who could perform the tricky operation needed, he has put together a team and is now ready and able to help Mel once again, on October the 4th - if we can raise the money in time!
"I know that very generously lot of people have donated to help Mel in the past, but now the situation is dire….Absolutely life threatening and I beg your readers as Mel's mam to please try to help her again! Every pound will help save her life, and every share on social media will reach out to others who may be able to help.
"Please help save my daughter, this is her last chance!"
Chronicle Live previously reported how Melanie feared how she would not be able to raise the money needed to undergo the operation. She feared that if the surgery is postponed she may become too ill to travel to Spain.
She said: "I'm getting really scared about it now. I'm really worried I won't get the money in, the halo won't last and I'll be too ill to get back to Spain.
"It's a really dangerous situation because the halo keeps me alive. I stop breathing without it and I have seizures non-stop. The halo isn't going to last. Usually people have a halo for six months to a year, they don't know anyone that has had it longer than a year."
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