Woman whose spine was slowly turning 90 degrees reveals incredible transformation after surgery that could have left her paralysed and blind
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A young woman who was told she could spend her life bent into a 90 degree angle has shown off her incredible transformation after a gruelling five-hour surgery .
Emily Jackson from Oadby in Leicester suffers from scoliosis, which means she has a sideways bend in her spine.
The 20-year-old was told there was a risk she could be paralysed if anything went wrong with the procedure - and she could even go blind.
But in 2016 the aesthetic therapist, who works for leading skincare company DermaCare Direct, went ahead with the radical spinal fusion to correct the C-shape with metal rods, screws and hooks.
Before she went into surgery though, she said she made sure she did lots of cartwheels "as I knew I would not be able to do them for a while.”
Now Emily says she’s feeling more confident than ever after years spent hiding her body under baggy clothes.
(Image: Emily Jackson)
(Image: Emily Jackson)
And she says a foot-long scar left behind following the procedure is now barely visible - thanks to a ‘magic’ cream.
Emily said: “I first noticed that I had scoliosis when I was 13. As I was getting older I realised that my body was changing.
“One side of my body had started to go in at the waist which is when I realised that I was constantly leaning to the left.
“After that I was left really conscious about the way my body looked and decided to live in baggy clothing.”
After countless trips to see specialists Emily was finally diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis at 43 degrees as well as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare inherited condition that effects tissue supporting skin, internal organs and bones.
“I was told that if I did not have surgery my body would be at a 90 degree angle by the time I was 40 years old,” Emily said. “But other than wearing baggy clothing I decided to carry on as normal.”
(Image: Emily Jackson)
Emily got her first job at the age of 16 but found it difficult to keep up with everyone else.
She said: “Every time I had to bend down it felt like my spine was burying itself under the muscles in my back.
“Luckily I was training to be a beauty therapist meaning that I was receiving massages every day. Without this I don’t know how I would have been able to cope with the constant stabbing pain.”
After putting up with the agonising pain for two years and passing her driving test despite her physical difficulties, Emily decided it was time to take action.
She explained: “I had several pre-op appointments to make sure that my body could withstand the surgery.
“I made sure to do my homework on the surgery by watching lots of gruesome videos and reading a lot of blogs.
“When the day came I made sure to do lots of cartwheels as I knew I would not be able to do them for a while.”
Emily, who was treated at Nottingham Hospital, continued: “On the morning of my surgery I was immediately taken to a room to meet all of my surgeons.
(Image: Emily Jackson)
“After meeting everyone I saw with one man who was telling me all the risks of my surgery.
"Like you could potentially be paralysed if anything went wrong and because I was laying on my front for five hours there was also a risk of me going blind.
“After contemplating whether this was the right decision, I decided to sign everything off and go ahead.”
Emily’s gruelling five-hour procedure was a success but she still faced a long road to recovery.
She initially spent five days in hospital where physiotherapists began trying to teach her how to walk with her new, straight back.
Emily said: “I immediately wanted to arch my back but couldn’t. I made it down the hall and up a few steps before going back to my room.
“A couple of days later I was out of the hospital and back home, where my mum and my partner cared for me for the next couple of weeks. The first couple of weeks after surgery were excruciatingly painful and hard but I managed to get through.
(Image: Emily Jackson)
“I found it difficult to get back on my feet but after having a lot of support I managed to find a new job.”
Emily is now thriving in her role at Dermacare Direct but struggled day-to-day with a huge scar from the surgery which covered the length of her back.
As experts in skin, she turned to her colleagues for help.
Emily said: “I have always disliked the look of my scar. It was very raised, red, itchy and dry.
“It sits just near my bra strap and runs right to the bottom of my tailbone, so it’s quite big. Probably a little bigger than a 30cm ruler.”
As time went on Emily’s scar got worse as her skin continued to produce more collagen.
There are two kinds of scars. A keloid is a tough heaped-up scar, often coloured pink or purple, that rises abruptly above the skin.
In comparison, a hypertrophic scar - like Emily’s - is characterised by deposits of excessive amounts of collagen, causing a less raised mark, often forming around pimples, body piercings, cuts and burns.
Emily tried dozens of products to help the appearance of the scar including gels, oils and silicone sheets, but nothing worked.
“It was starting to get thicker and dryer,” she said.
“I had tried other scar gels but I just didn’t have any luck. I found that the silicone sheets would ping off whilst I was wearing them and the gels were far too sticky.
“They would stick to my clothes and it would make it really uncomfortable.
“If I applied them before bed I would wake up in the night and the sheets or my pyjama top would be stuck to me.
“A nurse who works with me recommended a new silicone gel called Nourisil MD, which works on scars that are old, too.”
Nourisil MD contains five different silicones and vitamin E and works by forming an invisible layer that hydrates and protects scars on all areas of the body.