Samantha Smith reveals further deterioration in heart-breaking update

In a heart-breaking update, Samantha Smith has revealed the devastating extent of her deteriorating health which has left her needing your help more than ever before.

The brave mother-of-two from Smithy Bridge, 31, underwent three extensive surgeries last summer after her brain and spinal cord were being crushed under the weight of her own skull, due to a number of medical conditions such as EDS, unstable vertebrae and lack of connective tissue support.

Unfortunately, the operations did not have the success rate anticipated, failing to stabilise her upper vertebrae and head as expected, meaning Samantha requires another similar operation, plus additional surgeries.

Some of the surgeries are not available on the NHS, meaning that Sam is having to fundraise for every penny to save her life, requiring hundreds of thousands of pounds to cover costs.

She said: “It’s so hard being in control of your own healthcare and plans.

“I’m fighting for my life because it’s having such a massive effect on my spine, but at the same time, it’s having a massive effect on other parts of my body.

“My organs are collapsing and need reconstructing, and we’re hoping that that is something that can be managed here in the UK on the NHS. It’s just going to take a few more appointments to put a plan in place and decide whether to wait until after my neurosurgery or if we can’t do that.

“It depends what you define success by. I’m alive, it’s a year later, I’m existing. I’m a mum; I’ve had another year of watching my children grow and be amazing.

“The surgery I had wasn’t aggressive enough to stabilise me long-term. Unfortunately, I have been deteriorating throughout the year, and we know now from hindsight, I should have had a more aggressive fusion, covering a larger area.”

Rochdale Online has closely followed Samantha’s journey since April 2017, when we broke the news of her desperate race to raise £150,000 for her initial lifesaving neurosurgery.

However, many symptoms that were present prior to the psychotherapist’s first operation have returned, such as persistent pain, tremors, abnormally fast and slow heart rates, dislocations, trapped nerves and spinal cord damage.

Sam continued: “Unfortunately, that instability is causing damage to the work that was done last year. It’s just unfortunate that my body has responded in a way that wasn’t expected and that my situation was far worse than they understood it to be at the time."

Samantha, who urgently requires another fusion surgery, also revealed that her body is deteriorating so rapidly, she now requires brain surgery as her brainstem is falling out of her skull.

“I have what they call hind-brain herniation, which means that my brainstem is herniating and falling out of my skull. It’s not something that can be left,” she added.

Samantha is currently receiving palliative care to help manage her pain and symptoms and has had her endocrine issues overseen by The Christie since October 2017, as she has also developed Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency since her surgeries.

She explained: “The stress and long-term pain caused my adrenal glands to go into failure.

“I currently take steroids to make up for the lack of cortisol in my body, but the steroids weaken bone and connective tissue. It’s probably one of the worst conditions to combine with EDS, as the steroid treatments make my EDS a whole lot worse, yet without the steroids I wouldn’t survive.

“I am having hourly bloods all day on 24 September to test my cortisol levels. We want to know whether my body has managed to begin to make any of its own cortisol. 

“Humans can’t survive without a sufficient amount of cortisol; we go into crisis which fast becomes life threatening.”

She added: "I wouldn’t say I’m living; I’m existing. Life’s going on around me and emotionally, that’s breaking me. I want to be a 31-year-old mum; I want life to move on.

"I want my children to see me healthy and not have to worry about me.”

Read more about Samantha's brave journey:

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/news-archives?Page=1&type=News&Criteria=samantha%20smith&SearchType=Phrase&CatID=

Save Samantha

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