Chesterfield dad with 'terrifying' illness needs £60,000 for life-changing surgery in Barcelona

A young Chesterfield dad battling a debilitating and previously mystery neck condition is hoping to raise £60,000 so he can undergo life-changing surgery in Barcelona.
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Wesley Bell, 32, has suffered from a little-known illness which makes his upper neck ‘dangerously unstable’ since he was only 16-years-old and preparing for his GCSE exams.

He has now coped with the severe pain, problems with vision, fatigue and other issues caused by the condition for more than half of his life.

Wesley Bell with his two-year-old daughter Natasha. The family need to raise £60,000 for neck fusion surgery in Barcelona.Wesley Bell with his two-year-old daughter Natasha. The family need to raise £60,000 for neck fusion surgery in Barcelona.
Wesley Bell with his two-year-old daughter Natasha. The family need to raise £60,000 for neck fusion surgery in Barcelona.
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Wesley, who lives in Walton with his wife Lucy and two-year-old daughter Natasha, has now been given the opportunity of returning at last to a normal life thanks to neck fusion surgery.

However, the nearest place he can undergo the surgery is in Barcelona, and it will cost the family £60,000.

"I am hoping it will make a massive difference to my quality of life,” Wesley said.

“I have read about other people who have had the surgery and once they have recovered they get back to leading relatively normal lives. All I want is to live a normal life with my family and get back to work.”

Wesley Bell with his two-year-old daughter Natasha. The family need to raise £60,000 for neck fusion surgery in Barcelona.Wesley Bell with his two-year-old daughter Natasha. The family need to raise £60,000 for neck fusion surgery in Barcelona.
Wesley Bell with his two-year-old daughter Natasha. The family need to raise £60,000 for neck fusion surgery in Barcelona.
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Simple things like looking at a computer or mobile phone screen are difficult for Wesley because of the problems he has with vision.

"On several occasions, my symptoms have been so extreme and stroke-like that it has been quite terrifying,” he said.

Wesley has been unable to work since 2011 and even part-time jobs have proved impossible.

He has seen dozens of specialists over the last 16 years and has ‘lost track’ of the number of tests and scans he has undergone.

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However, Wesley and Lucy found light at the end of the tunnel through the case of an American man with the same symptoms who successfully underwent neck fusion surgery.

The nearest surgeon carrying out the operation is in Barcelona.

“With my condition worsening I thought it worth contacting the Spanish surgeon,” Wesley said.

"I was told that I would need an upright MRI or CT scan fully extending my neck in all directions.

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"Doctors in the UK had sent me for MRI scans in the past, but they were always done horizontally, which is apparently no good for diagnosing this condition.”

Wesley flew to Barcelona for the required scans, and after an anxious wait his condition was finally confirmed to be craniocervical and atlantoaxial instability (CCI/AAI).

"After 16 years of despair, worry and confusion I was finally told what was wrong with me,” he said. “The relief was immense.”

CCI/AAI is caused by loose ligaments where the skull meets the top of the spine, which means the skull is not being properly supported and is sinking into the spinal cord.

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"The only way to have any chance of putting this right, stopping the progression of the illness and protecting my life is to have the surgery. It will mean fusing my neck from the skull to the second vertebra,” Wesley said.

Very little support is normally available from the NHS for the condition and Wesley will have to retun to Barcelona for surgery.

To help the family, visit the GoFundMe page.