Statement from the SurvivalSurgery4Sarah Campaign Team, 8 November 2017:
Additional Surgery Needed, £70,000 added to fundraising goal
We are absolutely delighted to announce that our initial fundraising goal of £130,000 for SurvivalSurgery4Sarah has been reached, today, the day before Sarah’s surgery. To have raised this in just six weeks feels like nothing short of a miracle. It represents an outpouring of love from Sarah’s family, friends, her local community of Rochford, and strangers near and far, from around the world, who have been moved by her story; it represents phenomenal effort and countless prayers. Sarah has already said that words are not enough to express her gratitude. She would love to thank each and every person who has supported her in so many ways, whether via their finances or their time and energy.
In the midst of drafting a statement to celebrate this success we had some very difficult news from Sarah. As a result of her up-to-date scans and examinations in Barcelona in the last couple of days it has become apparent that her spine has deteriorated more than expected and her scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and instability has become severe. She has been told that she now needs a full spinal fusion. Sarah is currently processing what this will mean for her following surgery, as she will have significantly reduced mobility.
Sarah has said she feels at peace with this decision and is glad that the surgical team have picked up on the best way to strengthen and safeguard her entire spine – a better option for her than having partial fusion now and potentially running into serious problems later. Because Sarah’s body would not withstand a full spinal fusion in a single operation the decision has been taken to proceed with the original life-saving neck and skull fusion surgery tomorrow as planned. Providing there are no complications it is then expected that she will have the remaining fusion surgery around a month from now or as soon as her recovery allows.
This news carries with it massive financial implications. Full costs are yet to become clear and the doctors treating her will only be able to provide more certainty on the costs once assessments are carried out on Sarah’s progress about 10 days after the initial surgery. There are many reasons it is hard to give an exact figure, and at this stage we do not know whether or not Sarah will be returning to the UK between her procedures, but we estimate at the moment that it will be in the region of an additional £70,000. We are committed to continuing to help Sarah and therefore the SurvivalSurgery4Sarah campaign will go on. We hope that those who have been kind enough to fundraise and share her story will continue to do so. All funds raised will be held in a dedicated Trust for Sarah and used for her needs.
This experience has made Sarah all the more determined to recover well, to pursue life in all its fullness and to become a source of support and advice for other EDS patients facing this arduous journey.
For now, all our love, thoughts and prayers are with Sarah as she faces her first surgery tomorrow. It is expected to be a 16-hour procedure which will begin at 8am Spanish time (7am UK time). Sarah says she feels an enormous sense of peace as she awaits the surgery and knows she is in the best possible hands. We will continue to provide updates via the SurvivalSurgery4Sarah Facebook page and Sarah’s blog (survivalsurgerysarah.blogspot.co.uk).
Thank you to everyone for your support.
- HOW YOU CAN HELP
- DONATE at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/SurvivalSurgery4Sarah
- FUNDRAISE with family and friends
- FOLLOW Sarah’s story via Facebook at SurvivalSurgery4Sarah, her blog survivalsurgerysarah.blogspot.co.uk and Twitter @SurvivalSurgerySarah
- SHARE Sarah’s story.
