Spine op woman devastated to need fifth life-saving operation

Melanie Hartshorn is determined to lead as normal a life as possible and become a primary teacher

A disabled woman who has undergone four operations to stop her joints dislocating has been told she needs more surgery to save her life.

Melanie Hartshorn, from Northumberland and who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, had her fourth operation in Spain earlier this year after £160,000 was raised.

However, she has been told she needs further neurosurgery to keep her alive.

Ms Hartshorn, 32, who is £25,000 in debt after the surgeries, said she was not giving up on a normal life.

The 32-year-old has to wear a surgical halo to keep her stable and covers it up with flowers

The surgery, which she underwent in Barcelona, is not available in the UK.

It involved fusing her skull, neck and pelvis because they were dislocating several times a day and the movement was threatening to crush her brain and spine.

However, the fusions have become unstable because of four broken titanium screws in her vertebrae and she has been forced to wear a surgical halo vest.

She said her surgeon in Spain has said there is no more he can do and advised her to seek the help of specialists in America.

'Really scary'

Ms Hartshorn, from Cramlington, has been posting updates on her blog Melanie's Mission about her determination to get better and qualify as a primary school teacher.

She said: "It's been a crazy ride, I have no luck. I managed to catch Covid, had no idea that's what it was as I was unwell with an infection and asthma but thought I was getting better, then boom, ended up in hospital.

"I've been really poorly, had every symptom on the list even crazy hallucinations, hearing conversations that weren't happening, really scary."

Friends and family cheered Ms Hartshorn on as she collected her degree certificate in 2016

In 2016 Ms Hartshorn graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in biology and had to accept her certificate lying on a stretcher.

Before the further surgery this year she said she was inspired by her niece Katiya who made a list of things for them to do together to take her mind off the "shaky" seizures.

Ms Hartshorn, who is now out of hospital, added: "We need to find a way to get me safe and stable, so this halo can finally be removed as you can't live in a halo forever, but I'm a very complex case."

Her niece Katiya made a list of things to do to take her mind off the seizures