YEARS of pain are coming to a close for Limerick teenager and scoliosis sufferer, Megan Halvey-Ryan, who is “inches taller” following surgery to straighten her spine, according to her mother, Sharon.
The Dooradoyle schoolgirl’s suffering was highlighted in a massive media campaign. Megan was so crippled by her condition that she could no longer go to school or keep food down and spent her days lying at home, fighting off pain.
She had been on a waiting list for surgery for years and last week, finally went under the knife for an eight-hour operation which will change her life.
Speaking from her bedside in Crumlin hospital in Dublin, her mother told the Limerick Post how she “just broke into tears,” when she first saw her daughter stand, having grown taller without the curvature which had so badly stunted her. “She was towering over me – I couldn’t believe it,” said Sharon.
Sharon and Megan’s dad, Nigel travelled to Dublin with their daughter. “She’s in a lot of pain right now because they fused the entire spine but at least this pain will end – the pain of scoliosis was just going on and on,” said Sharon.
Plucky Megan is already learning to stand and has taken a few steps in her journey back to full health. “It will be a slow recovery but she’s a tough cookie and this is life-changing for her,” said Sharon who praise the skills of surgeon Pat Kiely and Barry O’Kelly of the Prime Time who first aired Megan’s story.
