Single mum needs life-saving surgery
MOTHER-OF-TWO DIAGNOSED WITH RARE CONDITION THAT MEANS HER SPINE COULD BE CRUSHED BY THE WEIGHT OF HER SKULL
SINGLE mum Samantha Smith is battling a life-threatening condition which means her spine is being crushed by her skull.
The 30-year-old, from Littleborough, says her life was ‘turned upside down’ after a shock diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS).
Samantha needs to raise £150,000 for complex life-saving surgery in the US. The genetic condition affects just one in every 5,000 people in the UK and causes pain, dislocations and cardiac abnormalities. She underwent years of tests and endured horrendous pain before eventually being diagnosed last year.
The mum-of-two had started to lose consciousness regularly, vomit blood, and was experiencing chest and head pain and weakness in her limbs. She was told that she had developed another condition known as Crainocervical Instability (CCI).
The CCI is stretching ligaments in her neck, making them too weak to support her head.
“This is causing the top of my spine to squash my brain stem under the weight of my skull,” Samantha said.
“My spine is compressing my spinal cord. My cervical discs are damaged and prolapsing. I feel the relentless agony of it every minute of the day in addition to the nerve damage. On a bad day the pressure inside my head is so bad I can’t talk or move my eyes. On a good day it’s just very painful.”
Samantha has suffered with pain since she was a child but only realised something was wrong when she was pregnant with her son Jensen, now eight. She developed problems with her liver and kidneys and suffered a fractured pelvis. A year later she was rushed to hospital for a emergency caesarean while pregnant with her daughter Brooke. Just before surgery doctors found that Samantha was resistant to the anaesthetic.
After years of misdiagnoses Samantha started to research her symptoms herself and became convinced that she had EDS.
She was eventually told she had EDS and CCI but says there is no treatment for the conditions in the UK. Her condition will eventually cause organ failure and paralysis.
Former psychotherapist Samantha has started a fundraising campaign to raise enough cash to travel to the US for treatment.
She said: “I must now fundraise for my own life and for my babies to have the mummy they so desperately need and deserve.”
To donate funds to Samantha visit: https://www.youcaring.com/ samanthasmith-788861