Sussex mum left with paralysed leg following operation

Sarah O’Mally-Richardson, 39, has suffered with severe back pain caused by a condition called spondylolisthesis, which affects the lower vertebrae, for the past three years.

She decided to have surgery in December as the pain was so bad.

Sarah, from Hassocks, who has two sons, Oscar, 13, and Benji, nine, said: “Spondylolisthesis causes vertebrae to break away and puts pressure on your nerves and causes problems with your spinal discs.

“It got to last year and it was really affecting my life, I was having to spend a lot of time on the floor at home.

Sarah with her husband Gavin and two sons, Benji and Oscar

“The only option left to me was to have surgery to fuse the vertebrae together.

“I agreed to have the operation knowing the risks, but you never go into surgery thinking things are going to go wrong.”

During Sarah’s operation at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, as surgeons were realigning the vertebrae in her lower back, another vertebrae shattered.

She said: “It became an 11-hour operation but it was not until I woke up they realised I couldn’t feel my left leg.”

Sarah remained in hospital for seven weeks, including on Christmas Day, before she was transferred to the Sussex Rehabilitation Centre at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

She was receiving regular occupational therapy (OT) and physiotherapy at the centre until the pandemic hit.

Sarah said: “At the beginning of the crisis my youngest son got a temperature at school and I had been home on weekend leave from hospital just before.

“I was given the choice of staying in isolation there or leaving, so I came out on March 18 and then the world shut down.

“Since then I’ve had no therapy at the hospital. It’s been very difficult to go from having daily sessions to nothing at all.”

During the coronavirus crisis Sarah discovered Neurokinex, a rehabilitation centre in Crawley for people living with neurological and neuromuscular impairments.

The centre offered physiotherapy and OT sessions remotely during the lockdown and Sarah was able to take advantage of some free sessions with Neurokinex through the NHS.

Sarah using one of the machines at Neurokinex in Crawley

She said: “They kindly offered me six free sessions but my trainer said a lot of people do fundraising to keep it going as it costs £70 per hour.

“It was a difficult decision to ask for money from friends but I’ve been absolutely blown away by the generosity.

“I feel a debt to all those people that I have to try my hardest. It takes such a weight off our shoulders to know we have a year’s sessions in the bank.”

Sarah’s crowdfunding campaign raised more than £1,000 within an hour and a total of £5,602 has been donated so far. She hopes the therapy will help her to walk again one day.

Sarah said: “They can’t cure you and knit your spinal cord back together but they can build strength. The more I can do, the better.”

To donate, go to Sarah's GoFundMe page.