By Adam Dutton
A brave disabled woman who lived lying down to avoid being internally decapitated walks for the first time thanks to pioneering surgery.
Melanie Hartshorn was filmed standing up and taking several steps before being embraced by her thrilled team of physios.
The 34-year-old, who has spent most of her life on her back, has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which caused her skull to dislocate from her spine.
She was forced to live with a halo brace 24/7 to keep her in a fixed position to stop her suffering violent seizures which risked her being internally decapitated.
Melanie was just weeks from death before she became the first patient in the world to undergo surgery in October 2022 to have her neck and spine fused together.
It was the only chance she had of survival and she managed to raise nearly £100,000 for the operation which is not available on the NHS.
Melanie spent months in hospital and underwent a second operation last February before flying home to the UK.
Just over a year later, Melanie, from Cramlington, Northumberland, has taken her first steps and hopes in time she will be able to live a normal life.
She said: “It was a very wonderful and weird feeling to stand up on my own for the first time.
“I could only shuffle a few steps but I have to teach my legs, feet and ankles how to walk.”
Footage taken at North Tyneside Hospital last month shows Melanie standing proudly for the first time.
Melanie, who is volunteering at a primary school to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher, added: “My surgeon is really pleased with how everything has gone because they didn’t know if it was going to work.
“In fact it’s going a lot better than anyone thought and I have done really well.
“After the operations I had problems swallowing and I had a feeding tube.
“It’s only three months ago that I stopped having to use it and swallow normally.
“I was in a normal wheelchair but it didn’t offer much support to I still had to lie down for long periods.
“Now I have a much better chair now which allows me sit for four hours at a time.
“I do physio once a week at the hospital but every day I do my own routine at home
strengthening my legs and feet.
“I still wear my back brace but I’ve come this far I’m not going to stop. I want my life back.”
Melanie is the first patient in the world to have her neck and spine fused through her mouth after surgeon Dr Vicenç Gilete performed two operations in Barcelona.
She is now having regular injections to help her bones fuse better and is preparing to start a teaching course and move into her own home.
Standing unaided for the first time marks a landmark moment for Melanie who feared she would spend the rest of her life lying down after previous operations failed.
Despite her condition, she still managed to complete a biology degree at Newcastle University and collected her certificate lying flat on a medical trolley stretcher.
Melanie, who is now recovering at home with mum Molly, 72, said: “When I was in the halo it was just so awful. I was in a really desperate position.
“There was just no end in sight and there was no way out of it. The operation gave me a chance and I’m going to seize it with both hands.”
Melanie has so far raised £151,000 on her GoFundMe page but needs a total of £165,000 to cover her medical bills.
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