Doncaster hospital worker runs ultra-marathon after spine surgery

Julie Wragg ran 92 miles in 24 hours after recovering from spinal surgery

A hospital worker who feared she would never walk again after three surgeries on her spine has completed an ultra-marathon less than a year later.

Julie Wragg, a care practitioner at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, ruptured a disc during a run in June 2022.

The 47-year-old underwent three major surgeries in six months.

She said she owed her life to her surgeon, Ranjit Pande, after she returned to running and completed a 92-mile (148km) race in 24 hours.

Ms Wragg came 12th out of 494 participants in the event, which took place between 15 and 16 September.

After the first emergency surgery on her back, in June 2022, she could not walk and believed the damage may be permanent.

A second and third operation followed.

Ms Wragg is 4ft 2ins tall (1.27m), which meant Mr Pande had to use specially shortened screws to reconstruct and fuse her lower back.

'Ecstatic'

She had been running since 2017 but said: "I had resigned myself to the fact that I was never going to do anything spectacular again.

"I was happy just to be able to put one foot in front of the other."

Ms Wragg had feared she would never walk again after the operations

She began running short distances in May but soon signed up for the Equinox24 ultra-marathon event and has been fundraising for the hospital.

She said she was "ecstatic" with her achievement and added: "Mr Pande saved me. I know that sounds dramatic, but he believed in me."

'Zest for life'

Mr Pande, who has worked at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for nearly 12 years, praised Ms Wragg's "zest for life".

He said: "Though I enabled her surgery, it is Julie's determination which has seen her through. I wish her the very best."