{"id":3099,"date":"2025-04-05T08:10:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T08:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/3099\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T08:10:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T08:10:20","slug":"i-was-totally-desperate-i-was-doing-what-i-thought-best-for-us-but-the-surgery-totally-backfired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/3099\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was totally desperate, I was doing what I thought best for us… but the surgery totally backfired’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Danielle was diagnosed with the rare condition that left her paralysed from the neck down for months after the operation<\/p>\n

06:08, 03 Apr 2025Updated 06:37, 03 Apr 2025<\/p>\n

Danielle Peebles got bariatric surgery in Turkey as she was desperate to \u2018push her baby grandson around the park\u2019(Image: NCA NHS Trust)<\/p>\n

A woman was left paralysed from the neck down after flying abroad to get weight loss surgery \u2013 and was told by doctors that she might never walk again.<\/p>\n

At 28 stone and unable to walk, Danielle Peebles was desperate to \u2018push her baby grandson around the park\u2019. In summer 2023, she flew to Turkey for a gastric sleeve, fearing a long wait for bariatric surgery on the NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The mum-of-five says the \u00a32,995 surgery went smoothly and went without complication in a \u2018beautiful hospital\u2019. But problems began \u2018the moment she arrived home\u2019, when she knew she \u2018wasn\u2019t right\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was absolutely desperate. I put on a lot of weight over the years,\u201d Danielle told the Manchester Evening News. \u201cIt\u2019s a long wait on the NHS for surgery and I appreciate that, no one could really tell me how long that was going to be.<\/p>\n

“I was trying to improve myself, and be a better mum and a better nana as quickly as possible as my grandson was about to be born.<\/p>\n

Danielle before her bariatric surgery(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing what I thought was best for us. I was nervous, it was a big operation but it seemed to go smoothly and I was relieved to feel fine afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut from the moment I got home, I just couldn\u2019t eat, I couldn\u2019t keep anything down, I could barely have any liquid. That carried on for weeks and months, I just couldn\u2019t tolerate anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Danielle tried to get help from the Turkish hospital, but started running out of options quickly. \u201cThey\u2019re in Turkey and I\u2019m here,\u201d she explained. \u201cThey can only give me advice as best they can over email. And they advised me to go to A&E.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first time Danielle went to hospital in December 2023, the 42-year-old says she was told by medics that she was seriously dehydrated and she was placed on a drip. But in January 2024, Danielle got more and more poorly, and collapsed after starting to feel her legs go \u2018numb\u2019.<\/p>\n

Danielle questioned herself, saying: \u201cI\u2019d never had weight loss surgery, so I didn\u2019t know if this was just part of it. But then I collapsed and when I came round, I was paralysed from the neck down and couldn\u2019t walk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danielle, her husband Stephen, and the rest of her family were left devastated as she \u2018left her children for months in Salford Royal Hospital\u2019 to recover(Image: NCA NHS Trust)<\/p>\n

That began \u2018the worst time in [her] life\u2019, as Danielle was diagnosed with the rare condition, nutritional neuropathy \u2013 a severe vitamin deficiency. Danielle says she was paralysed from the neck down apart from the worst pain she\u2019s ever felt\u2019 in her feet that flared up at the \u2018slightest touch\u2019, leaving her \u2018screaming\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I quite realised that I was paralysed, it takes a doctor to tell you even though you can\u2019t walk,\u201d shared Danielle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I understood the severity of how poorly I was. Then I was told I had very severe nerve damage and might not walk again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe surgical side of my procedure had all been fine, it was how my body dealt with it. You don\u2019t hear that you can get nutritional neuropathy from not eating. You\u2019re not told about these side effects because they\u2019re so rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danielle says she was paralysed from the neck down apart from the worst pain she\u2019s ever felt\u2019 in her feet that flared up at the \u2018slightest touch\u2019, leaving her \u2018screaming\u2019(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n

Danielle, her husband Stephen, and the rest of her family were left devastated as she \u2018left her children for months in Salford<\/a> Royal Hospital\u2019 to recover. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what was going to happen,\u201d said Danielle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really upset me, I had such mum guilt. The surgery had totally backfired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Months-long hospital stay<\/p>\n

Recovery from nerve damage can be a slow process and Danielle remained at Salford Royal for five months. Slowly but surely, she started regaining sensation in her limbs.<\/p>\n

The grandma-of-one says she was blown away by her hospital care. Physiotherapists, support workers and dieticians made Danielle believe that she might walk again if she kept up with her intensive rehabilitation plan.<\/p>\n

She even made friends with one of the cleaners who came to her room \u2018every day to cheer her up\u2019.<\/p>\n

Danielle Peebles and Dr Dan Whittam(Image: NCA NHS Trust)<\/p>\n

Neurologist Dr Dan Whittam \u2018went out of his way, I can\u2019t even explain how above and beyond he went for me\u2019, said Danielle. \u201cHe pushed me downstairs for all my tests and took me for all my scans. He really didn\u2019t have to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a lot of repetitive movements to get the nerves to link back to the brain again. It starts with getting your fingers moving again first.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I lifted my head up was to give my son a cuddle again after months. I can walk, but I\u2019ve got a long way to go. I\u2019m still doing more than I ever thought I would.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danielle has been reunited with members of the medical team responsible for her life-changing care, including Dr Dan, who is now a consultant in the neurology department.<\/p>\n

The pair shared an emotional hug as Danielle walked unaided towards him and thanked the Salford Royal for \u2018making their mark\u2019 in supporting her recovery.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThank you to \u2018Dr Dan\u2019 number one for getting me through everything and making me well and all the nurses on the unit and ward L1.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danielle following her recovery(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n

Speaking after being reunited with Danielle at Salford Royal, Dr Whittam said: \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see Danielle, I almost didn\u2019t recognise her.<\/p>\n

“To see her walking without even a crutch really exceeded my expectations and her determination has been inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo hear how she\u2019s back enjoying life and feeling so positive, that\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Husband Stephen added: “Danielle has done amazingly and I am so proud of her. She is still in the early stages of her recovery but she is determined to live as normal a life as possible.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Danielle was diagnosed with the rare condition that left her paralysed from the neck down for months after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1833,105,211,1290,1832,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-3099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-blackley","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-nhs","11":"tag-salford","12":"tag-salford-royal-hospital","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114284345610342455","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}