Mum, 32, whose own skull is crushing her spine

A MUM-OF-TWO needs to raise funds for a life-saving op in TWO WEEKS after it was discovered the weight of her skull is crushing her spine.

Samantha Smith, 30, is attempting to raise £250,000 for potentially life-saving surgery in the US not available on the NHS.

Samantha suffers from the genetic condition Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder, and Craniocervical Instability (CCI), which means the muscles in her neck are too weak to support her head.

The single mother has £180,000 in donations but is running out of time to get the rest.

Sam, a psychotherapist from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, has been told by specialists that because her CCI is so severe, she has only two weeks to have the surgery before the damage will become irreversible and she will die.

She said if she doesn't raise the money she will "lose my chance to survive."

Samantha said she felt "relieved" after being diagnosed but is now concerned about what happens to her, for the sake of her children, Jensen, eight, and Brooke, seven.

Posting on GoFundMe she said: "I must now fundraise for my own life and for my babies to have the mummy they so desperately need and deserve.

"I am in constant pain in my neck, head and spine and week in, week out my neurological damage is becoming harder to ignore."

She added: "This is the last haul. This surgery has been hailed a 'lifetime fix' by my surgeon in Arizona.

"We really are on the last haul now.

"A stable life and health is finally within reach - but the peak of this mountain is going to be the hardest yet for us to overcome. I'm so very tired."

She was diagnosed with (EDS-Type1) in January 2017 when neurosurgeons discovered the weight of her skull was causing her spine to collapse.

Samantha was also diagnosed with secondary illness with Craniocervical Instability, which means the ligaments are weakened in her neck.

The diagnoses means she is at risk of "internal decapitation".

It has left her in a wheelchair, with memory loss and in agonising pain.

Two operations to stabilise her neck in Washington, last year, did not go to plan.

We previously reported her desperate month long battle to raise cash to get the flights to the surgery.