Melissa's miracle
September 30th 2010 11:09
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Melissa's miracle
We love stories that feature heroism, determination, invention and, most of all, a happy ending.
Melissa Peacock is a 17-year-old from Bradford, England. She suffers from a rare condition called intracranial hypertension, or IH, which causes a build-up of spinal fluid in her skull which results in headaches.
The headaches have been described as "severe migraines", but another IH sufferer said calling them migraines is like calling the Nile a brook.
Melissa Peacock has been treated for eight years for the condition, but with little effect, and little relief from the headaches.
As a result, she has watched her friends enjoy a teenager's life while she has spent up to two weeks at a time in bed unable to move because of pain. Most of the time, she can't see properly. Sometimes she can barely see at all.
In her own words, it's like constantly trying to "see through a steamed-up window".
Melissa's inability to find relief from this miserable existence was not due to lack of trying from her doctors. The usual treatment for IH is a spinal puncture to drain the pooling fluid. It isn't a pleasant procedure. Melissa knows, she's had eight of them.
Her case proved unusual, if not unique, because the fluid built up again so quickly. The doctors needed to find another treatment.
They tried attaching a tube from Melissa's lower spine to her stomach, but it ended in disaster when the tube shifted and lodged in Melissa's neck. They tried the same thing again, but it ended in disaster when the tube shifted and lodged in Melissa's stomach, creating huge water blisters on her back and stomach as fluid leaked.
The doctors didn't give up.
Finally they came up with another idea; something radical, never tried before. They suggested a tube all the way from Melissa's skull to her stomach. The tube would be a permanent drain, removing the fluid as it collected from her brain, which couldn't cope with it, to her stomach, which could cope.
Her stomach would do with the fluid what it did with Melissa's dinner - check it for anything useful, and dispatch the rest to the waste disposal unit.
The idea worked.
"It has been a long journey but I can start to get on with the rest of my life now," Melissa Peacock said.
After eight years of agony, she deserves it. She's a hero just to have survived. Her determination over this period is a beacon to anyone suffering.
"I am studying photography at college now and hope I can go on to live a life that isn't controlled by my condition." We hope so too, Melissa.
As for the medical people who fashioned a miracle from iron will, skill and invention, you are as inspirational as Melissa Peacock.
Melissa Peacock is a 17-year-old from Bradford, England. She suffers from a rare condition called intracranial hypertension, or IH, which causes a build-up of spinal fluid in her skull which results in headaches.
The headaches have been described as "severe migraines", but another IH sufferer said calling them migraines is like calling the Nile a brook.
Melissa Peacock has been treated for eight years for the condition, but with little effect, and little relief from the headaches.
As a result, she has watched her friends enjoy a teenager's life while she has spent up to two weeks at a time in bed unable to move because of pain. Most of the time, she can't see properly. Sometimes she can barely see at all.
In her own words, it's like constantly trying to "see through a steamed-up window".
Melissa's inability to find relief from this miserable existence was not due to lack of trying from her doctors. The usual treatment for IH is a spinal puncture to drain the pooling fluid. It isn't a pleasant procedure. Melissa knows, she's had eight of them.
Her case proved unusual, if not unique, because the fluid built up again so quickly. The doctors needed to find another treatment.
They tried attaching a tube from Melissa's lower spine to her stomach, but it ended in disaster when the tube shifted and lodged in Melissa's neck. They tried the same thing again, but it ended in disaster when the tube shifted and lodged in Melissa's stomach, creating huge water blisters on her back and stomach as fluid leaked.
The doctors didn't give up.
Finally they came up with another idea; something radical, never tried before. They suggested a tube all the way from Melissa's skull to her stomach. The tube would be a permanent drain, removing the fluid as it collected from her brain, which couldn't cope with it, to her stomach, which could cope.
Her stomach would do with the fluid what it did with Melissa's dinner - check it for anything useful, and dispatch the rest to the waste disposal unit.
The idea worked.
"It has been a long journey but I can start to get on with the rest of my life now," Melissa Peacock said.
After eight years of agony, she deserves it. She's a hero just to have survived. Her determination over this period is a beacon to anyone suffering.
"I am studying photography at college now and hope I can go on to live a life that isn't controlled by my condition." We hope so too, Melissa.
As for the medical people who fashioned a miracle from iron will, skill and invention, you are as inspirational as Melissa Peacock.
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