{"id":2072,"date":"2025-04-06T11:35:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T11:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=2072"},"modified":"2025-04-09T08:44:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T08:44:06","slug":"woman-paralysed-from-neck-down-after-weight-loss-surgery-in-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/06\/woman-paralysed-from-neck-down-after-weight-loss-surgery-in-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman paralysed from neck down after weight loss surgery in Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Danielle\t<\/div>
Danielle endured a five-month hospital stay including intense rehabilitation before she was able to walk again (Picture: NCA NHS Trust\/MEN Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A woman was left paralysed from the neck down after weight loss surgery in Turkey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At 28 stone and unable to walk, Danielle Peebles desperately wanted to become fitter for her grandson who was about to be born.<\/p>\n

The 42-year-old flew to Turkey in 2023 and paid \u00a32,995 for a gastric sleeve procedure after deciding she could not wait for the operation on the NHS.<\/p>\n

But she began experiencing complications soon after returning to the UK.<\/p>\n

The mum-of-five\u2019s condition progressively worsened, and she collapsed last year before being diagnosed with nutritional neuropathy, a rare and severe vitamin deficiency.<\/p>\n

This sparked a five-month hospital stay at the Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester, where she managed to walk again despite doctors fearing that she may be permanently paralysed.<\/p>\n

Describing it as \u2018the worst time in [her] life\u2019, she said: \u2018I was paralysed from the neck down apart from the worst pain I\u2019ve ever felt in my feet that flared up at the slightest touch.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Danielle\t<\/div>
Danielle paid for the weight loss surgery in 2023 so she could be more active with her yet-to-be born grandson (Picture: MEN MEDIA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Danielle\t<\/div>
Before the surgery, Danielle weighed 28 stone and was unable to walk (Picture: MEN MEDIA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Danielle later learned about the extent of her nerve damage and the possibility of never walking again.<\/p>\n

\u2018The surgical side of my procedure had all been fine. It was how my body dealt with it,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018You don\u2019t hear that you can get nutritional neuropathy from not eating,\u2019 she pointed out. <\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019re not told about these side effects because they\u2019re so rare.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tTurkish weight loss clinics’ rising popularity\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

An estimated 50,000 Brits travel to Turkey each year for weight loss surgery, a significant increase from around 10,000 five years ago, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). <\/p>\n

The main appeal lies in cost with procedures up to 70% cheaper than in the UK.<\/p>\n

For example, gastric sleeve surgeries generally cost around \u00a33,000 to \u00a35,000, compared to \u00a38,000 to \u00a312,000 in the UK.<\/p>\n

However, there have been numerous reports of complications and concerns about the quality of care. <\/p>\n

The Private Healthcare Information Network indicated that around 1,000 patients faced issues after undergoing treatment abroad, prompting many to seek legal advice.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Danielle\u2019s family, including her husband Stephen, faced immense distress as she spent months recovering in hospital.<\/p>\n

\u2018We didn\u2019t know what was going to happen,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

After five months, Danielle began to regain sensation in her limbs.<\/p>\n

She praised the hospital staff, noting how physiotherapists, support workers, and dieticians helped her walk again.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Danielle\t<\/div>
Danielle was recently reunited with neurologist Dr Dan Whittam, who was part of the medical team that got her moving again (Picture: NCA NHS Trust\/MEN Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Danielle\t<\/div>
As well as managing to walk again, Danielle has lost a substantial amount of weight (Picture: MEN MEDIA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She spoke highly of neurologist Dr Dan Whittam who \u2018went out of his way\u2019 to help her.<\/p>\n

She was recently reunited with the medical team responsible for her life-changing care.<\/p>\n

\u2018Thank 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,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on her progress, Dr Whittam said: \u2018To see her walking without even a crutch really exceeded my expectations and her determination has been inspiring.\u2019<\/p>\n

Addressing her recovery, Danielle\u2019s husband Stephen said: \u2018Danielle has done amazingly, and I am so proud of her.<\/p>\n

\u2018She is still in the early stages of her recovery, but she is determined to live as normal a life as possible.\u2019<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Danielle endured a five-month hospital stay including intense rehabilitation before she was able to walk again (Picture: NCA NHS Trust\/MEN Media) A woman was left paralysed from the neck down after weight loss surgery in Turkey. At 28 stone and unable to walk, Danielle Peebles desperately wanted to become fitter for her grandson who was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weird"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2072"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2079,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2072\/revisions\/2079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}