Cramlington woman Melanie Hartshorn receives date for final Ehlers-Danlos syndrome surgery in Barcelona

Melanie Hartshorn, from Sea View Villas in Cramlington, underwent surgery at a Barcelona hospital in October to stabilise her joints, and has been recovering in the city since.

She suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that makes connective tissue weaker, in an extreme form that means her skull, neck, and spine frequently and painfully dislocate.

The surgery to stabilise her spine is planned for February 10, and involves opening up her chest to access her spine from the front.

In a post on her campaign’s Facebook page, Melanie said: “I am now healed enough and ready for the final stage of my life-saving neurosurgeries here in Barcelona - my thoracic anterior fusion.

“Not only will it remove the broken screws and stabilise my broken fusion, but it will prevent paralysis and potentially life threatening, irreparable damage to the fusion I have just had in October by stabilising my spine, fully allowing it to heal and fuse strong.

“With a stable spine I will be able to sit up again and come home at long last, and I miss home.”

During her first procedure, which is not approved by UK regulators and so unavailable on the NHS, it was not possible to do all the necessary fusions, and so she must now undergo this surgery, hoped to be the final one.

The wait between surgeries was prolonged after Melanie was readmitted to intensive care and put onto a nutrition drip following an allergic reaction to tube feeds.

As a result of the course of treatment, Melanie’s joints will be fused from her skull to her pelvis.

Melanie has updated her fundraising target in an attempt to raise the funds required for the surgery.

Her post added: “Thanks to everyone’s generous donations, we have already raised £35,000 towards this next and final neurosurgery.

“However, we now have received the surgical quote and a surgery date.

“This means we have only 2 weeks until surgery and we must raise another £45,000 to cover the remaining costs.”

You can find links to support Melanie here.