A inspirational little girl has bounced back after a major operation on her brain and spine.
Missy Russell has a rare and incurable brain condition which means her brain is going through a hole in her skull and resting on her spinal cord.
The incurable condition, Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia, causes loss of control of the limbs, dizziness, pressure headaches and other problems, and can only be treated by regular brain surgery to ease the pressure on the brain.
And so in October, the six-year-old and her family travelled from their home in Middlesbrough to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for the procedure.
“It went amazing,” said Missy’s mum, Kirsty Clough. “It really couldn’t have gone better.
“She is back to being Missy but about five times better. She has so much energy.”
Missy, an Ayresome Primary School pupil, amazed medics just 48 hours after the operation when she got back on her feet.
“She had the surgery on the Monday and on the Wednesday was on her feet,” said Kirsty.
“I went to get a coffee with another mum whose son was on the same ward and while we were away, he shouted for the nurses.
“Missy then got up out of bed to check if he was okay and asked him if she could get him a drink.
“Everybody else comes first with her. She always wants to make sure others are okay.”
Missy will now continue to have regular check ups and faces further operations. She will be travelling back down to Oxford in January.
“We will find out if the operation was as successful as we think it was and if she will be able to do things she couldn’t previously like going on bouncy castles,” said Kirsty, also mum to eight-year-old Jason Russell and 12-year-old Ellie Clough.
“It is a case of so far so good but only time will tell.”
“Missy’s condition is something she has dealt with her whole life - I don’t think she thinks of herself as being poorly,” she added.
“She is so brave and courageous.
“She makes me very proud.”
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