Woman walks again after surgery to stop weak neck being crushed by skull

Erin Meegan, 34, was bedridden for more than 20 hours a day in constant pain - now she's recovering from rare surgery funded by £70,000 fundraiser

A woman whose neck was so weak her skull was crushing her spine can walk again after having life changing surgery.

Erin Meegan has been bedridden and forced to spend more than 20 hours a day lying down in constant pain.

Erin, from East Molesey, was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), craniocervical instability (CCI), and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

Instability in her neck means that every time she moves, damage is caused to her brain stem and her skull is too heavy for her neck to support, Surrey Live reports.

Left untreated, the risk is her heart and lungs will stop working and spinal cord could be severed causing paralyses.

The condition also affects her memory, speech, vision, automatic nervous system, such as breathing, and overall health.

With the help of her family fundraising to cover medical costs, Erin underwent surgery in Barcelona earlier this month.

There are very few neurosurgeons worldwide with the specialism to treat Erin, but she is now recovering in medically-assisted apartments after having a craniocervical fusion and a disc replacement.

The 34-year-old said: "My skull was sliding seven millimetres and the average person's is one or two millimetres which is quite extreme.

"With that movement it meant that it was compressing my brain stem, which affected my ability to talk, breathe, move - all the normal things that you would usually do

"They have put a titanium cage at the bottom of my skull and fixed two vertebrae together so over time that will fuse together."

In the short-term, Erin’s movement is restricted as her neck has been pinned in place.

She is unable to look down properly and is not allowed to lift anything weighing more than two kilograms for the next two years.

But the surgery has already changed her lifestyle.

Whereas she used to lie down to shower she can now stand up and she was able to walk again in hospital.

Erin’s husband Isaac has been campaigning to raise funds for her surgery.

Around £70,000 was donated by friends, family and well-wishers but the couple are still £17,000 in debt after forking out for an extra disc replacement.

She added: "I am still personally stressed about the debt, but grateful.

"I am amazed at how far we've come and the generosity of people, and I do not know what we would have done without them."

Erin relocated to Australia after her first round of surgery at the age of 24 where she met Isaac.

After battling with the condition for three years, Erin has been unable to visit family in the UK and is now "getting excited about things and is looking forward to the future".