Woman who had spine surgery prepares for race

Jamilla Blake is running a half marathon to raise money for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

A woman who needed spine surgery as a child said "sometimes the impossible is possible" as she prepares to run her first half marathon.

Jamilla Blake, 20, from Colchester, is taking part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London on 13 October, to raise money for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH).

Aged seven, she suffered severe back pain which became so debilitating she could no longer walk and needed a wheelchair.

"Sometimes the impossible is possible," she said. "My mum was told I could be paralysed for life, if I survived at all, but 13 years later I am running the Royal Parks Half Marathon."

Aged seven, Ms Blake underwent complex surgery which lasted 10 hours

An initial X-ray from when she was seven had showed a mass on her spine and she was sent to RNOH in London for a CT biopsy and MRI scan.

The results found the pain was being caused by a "benign lesion" known as an aneurysmal bone cyst, which was wrapped around her L3 and L4 vertebrae in her lower back and was putting pressure on her spinal cord.

Aneurysmal bone cysts affecting the spine are exceptionally rare, especially in people so young, affecting only about one in a million people.

Ms Blake underwent complex surgery, which lasted 10 hours and was successful.

"The surgery was difficult, as I was being told that the surgery was going to stop the pain and make things better, so I was expecting to come out of surgery feeling completely better again," she said.

After her surgery she needed a wheelchair that was permanently reclined, as she was unable to bend at the waist

Ms Blake had to spend the next two weeks laying completely flat.

She said: "I shared a ward with children who were paralysed for life, and a toddler having his leg removed due to cancer, so from a young age I did start to feel grateful for the position I was in."

She wore a plaster cast for five months, followed by a brace for an additional six months and relied on a wheelchair which was permanently reclined as she was unable to bend at the waist.

Ms Blake added: "I remember a lot about being in the wheelchair, felt very embarrassed at times as it wasn't a 'normal' wheelchair."

Jamilla Blake with her mum Jan Wilcox after running at a local running club in Colchester

Ms Blake, a professional economist degree apprentice at the Bank of England, started running a few years ago and had reached 6.2 miles (10km) before stopping for two years.

In May this year, she started running again to prepare for the Royal Parks Half Marathon and hopes to inspire those undergoing medical challenges of their own.

Her mother, Jan Wilcox, had breast cancer in 2009, blood clots in her lungs in 2013 and sepsis in 2017.

"My mum is the strongest person I know," she said.

"I constantly want to make her proud, and I know that not only doing the half marathon but also getting out and training makes her proud, particularly as she is a runner herself, and that is so important for me."

"To get round the course will be a huge achievement for me," she said.

"As I've grown older, and fully understand how serious the situation was, I am much more appreciative of being alive and being able to enjoy life the way I do."