A Cramlington woman whose life was saved by a neurosurgery in Spain needs to raise £25k to return after complications.

Melanie Hartshorn suffers from an extreme form of genetic condition Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) that severely weakens her connective tissue.

Back in 2022, Melanie feared she would lose her life if she was not able to raise £100k to have a first-world operation in Barcelona, which is unavailable in the UK.

She started the campaign Melanie’s Mission to Live and thanks to relentless fundraising and generous donations, Melanie was able to successfully have the operation.

Since her last operation, Melanie has been working at a school before she plans to begin her teacher training in September.

placeholder image — Since her last operation, Melanie has been working at a school before she plans to begin her teacher training in September.

However, Melanie is now having complications with T4 instability which could potentially damage her neck fusion, undoing the lifesaving work that has been done. She is now trying to raise £25k via GoFundMe to return for a smaller operation.

She explained: "The big worry is that I used to have seizures and stop breathing from instability in my neck. They need to try and stabilise it as soon as possible.

“Last time, it was a really desperate situation so it was amazing when everyone helped and I got the successful surgery.”

Since the last operation, Melanie has been working towards her dream of becoming a teacher – something which at one point wouldn’t have been possible at all.

She added: “I have been doing really well. I had my teacher training lined up for September at Sunderland Uni and if I don't get this fixed I am not going to be able to do that. It was something I have always wanted to do, I have got a biology degree but this was always my plan.”

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