Dance instructor is left paralysed after operation to remove mesh
A DANCE instructor who went to hospital to have mesh removed woke up to find her left leg paralysed.
Mother-of-two Gemma Mulcahy has spoken out after discharging herself from hospital weeks after losing the use of her leg.
The dancer, who runs Merthyr-based Fantasy Feet Dance and Musical Theatre Academy, attended private Bristol Spire hospital on July 22 to get the mesh, which was implanted to treat severe stress incontinence, removed.
She said: “It caused me four years of constant excruciating pain and if I had known what is known now I would never have agreed to having it in the first place.”
After coming round from spinal aesthetic given to her before the procedure to remove the mesh, she found herself unable to move her leg from the hip downwards.
“It’s hard to get my head around the fact that before the operation my leg was fine,” Gemma, 35, said.
“There was nothing wrong with it. It’s hard to deal with but I’ve got to stay positive as not being positive will hinder my rehabilitation.”
She added: “When they removed the mesh they had to repair a hole in my urethra as the mesh had become stuck to it so removing it caused a hole. Luckily this has healed but at present I’m still suffering a lot of pain from the surgery.”
Before being transferred to a NHS hospital, the Rogerstone resident said she received up to two 40-minute sessions of physiotherapy a day at the Spiral Healthcare hospital.
However, she claimed this was reduced to a daily session of between 10 and 20 minutes after moving to St Woolos Hospital in Newport.
Gemma said: “I didn’t see a consultant at all, the NHS just failed me. I wasn’t getting the physiotherapy I needed, I wasn’t getting the consultant’s support, I wasn’t getting any doctor’s support. When I went to St Woolos I asked the ward doctor if I could be referred to Rookwood [rehabilitation hospital] and he just said ‘no.’”
After speaking to a specialist neuro rehabilitation centre in Langstone, the dance principal took the decision to discharge herself from hospital but was told she would not receive a NHS wheelchair.
Her pupils at the leading dance school have now started a fundraising page to help her buy a lightweight wheelchair to help her return to the studio. It will cost about £2,500 for a wheelchair and between £200 and £300 a week for rehabilitation at the Morello Clinic.
Gemma said: “Unfortunately they said with this injury there’s no timescale, we have to take every day as it comes. I’ve danced since I was three, it’s always been what I wanted to do.
“I performed around the world and I came back and set up the dance school from scratch. The school is my life and I don’t want to let my students down. I have a national final I need to be fit enough to go to in December.
“The wheelchair needs to be something really light I can get in and out of the car on my own and quick enough to teach.”
A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We’re sorry to hear that Ms Mulcahy has concerns about the care she has received. We would ask that she makes contact with us directly so we can look into her claims.”
A spokesman for Spire Healthcare said: “Spire is unable to discuss individual patients’ details with third parties, however if the patient has concerns about her surgery she should contact the hospital or her treating consultant to discuss these directly.
“Spire is committed to delivering the very highest levels of patient care, and takes patient safety and aftercare extremely seriously.
“If the patient requires any assistance in contacting her consultant, the hospital team can contact her directly – please let me know if she would like Spire to arrange this.”
To donate to Gemma’s wheelchair appeal, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gemma-mulcahy-1