Family face race against time to spare Violet, 12, a lifetime of pain
A MUM is facing a race against time to raise money for vital surgery to spare her daughter from a lifetime of pain.
Violet Mullin-Valentine, 12, has scoliosis – curvature of the spine that can cause debilitating pain and breathing problems if left untreated.
Violet, from Sale, has coped well with the condition since first being diagnosed last year, but in recent months it has severely impacted her life.
Now she can’t walk long distances without being in pain.
A recent scan showed that her spine has curved to 80 degrees, and as she continues to grow it will only get worse.
Her family are now trying to raise £60,000 so Violet can have a type of surgery to straighten her spine that isn’t available on the NHS.
The procedure, called vertebral body tethering, would see a flexible cord attached to the outside of the curve in Violet’s spine, which would start to pull it straight.
As she grows, her spine will carry on being pulled straight - in a similar way to how braces work on teeth.
If they can raise the money, Violet, who goes to Ashton-onMersey School, will travel to Barcelona in October for the operation. It must be done as soon as possible, because as children get older, their spines become far less flexible.
The alternative would be for Violet to have her spine fused on the NHS, but this would leave her unable to bend her back and mean her spine would stop growing.
Violet’s mum Gaynor said: “We are in a race against time because she is still growing.
“Adolescent scoliosis can progress very quickly and be very aggressive
“Lots of children have spinal fusion and manage really well but there’s a much higher risk of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
“Violet is being amazingly brave about the prospect of surgery.
“She had been fine until a few months ago when it worsened. She’s in pain a lot of the time, she can’t do much walking anymore.”
See justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ gaynor-mullin-1