The family of a practician nurse who has spent four months ‘marooned’ in bed after contracting a rare spinal condition must raise £25,000 for her treatment in Germany.
Vivienne Boyd, aged 51, had been putting up her Christmas tree on December 9 when she had to lie down with a severe pain in the back of her head.
Four months on and five hospital admissions later, she is bed-bound with spontaneous intracranial hypotension – also known as a CSF leak.
Her husband, Martin, launched the campaign to raise £25,000 to ‘save Vivienne from this torture’.
The money would enable them to travel to an expert care facility in Freiburg by ambulance and pay for surgery.
He said: “How can you live your life lying flat on your back?
“It is devastating – Viv is marooned on a bed 24/7, even eating a meal is a challenge.
“It is frightening for her to get up, with pain down both her arms and in her shoulders at the moment.
“She has been like this for four months nearly and every so often she will panic about being kept in bed for hours.
“She can’t listen to music as the notes sound off key and she has very sensitive hearing as part of the condition.”
“She can’t work, I can’t take her down to the shops and we can’t get to any GP appointments – they have to come to her.
“Each change from lying to sitting is a major challenge and becomes harder through the day.
“She feels ill and is in pain, and has become distressed and depressed.
“Her working life and family roles seem a distant memory. “
The mother-of-two, from Wick St Lawrence, was first admitted to Weston General Hospital for multiple tests before she was diagnosed with the leak.
She was treated at Southmead Hospital, in Bristol, by the neurology department but it does not have the expertise and equipment to be able to locate the leak.
She has been unable to return to work at the For All Healthy Living Centre, on the Bournville estate.
Martin added: “We have got a lot of friends and a church network who have kept her going, the support we have had has been wonderful.”
The WorleWind Band, which Martin is a member of, is holding a charity concert for Vivienne on Wednesday at 7.30pm at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, in Locking Road.
Entry is a free-will donation.
To donate, visit Vivienne’s JustGiving page.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here