Woman awarded six-figure sum after poor surgery leaves her on crutches

10:00am Thursday 18th March 2010

By Hannah Al-Taraboulsy

EVERY day is a battle for a former nurse who can no longer hug her children after complications following spinal surgery at Warrington Hospital – where she used to work.

Michele Rudge, from Howley, has received a six-figure sum in an out of court settlement from Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust after permanent nerve damage inflicted during surgery in 2005 left her immobile.

Michele, mum to Zak, aged 15, Chloe, aged 13, and Jacob, aged 12, needs constant help at home and can only walk with crutches.

The 40-year-old, who can no longer work, said: “I have accepted that I am going to be in pain for the rest of my life. Every day is a battle.

“The most distressing thing for me is the impact the surgery has had on my family, who are very protective of me now.

“Jacob gets upset that I can’t hold his hand when we go out together and I can’t play with the children like other mums.

“I don’t know what I would do without my husband and parents, they have all been a tremendous support.”

Daughter Chloe said: “I can’t really give my mum proper hugs anymore as it will hurt and when we go on holiday to places with rides she can’t go on any and has to wait for us before she can get up and walk around.

“This makes me feel really sad. If I had the power to make my mum better then I would.”

Michele’s husband Harry used to work overseas but had to change his career, which has put the family under financial strain.

Harry, aged 42, said: “This has changed us all. We are far more resilient and together now but this is not a journey anyone would want to undertake.

A spokesman for Warrington Hospital said: “It is always regrettable when there is a poor outcome, even in situations where no negligence has been found or surgical failures established. The trust is very sympathetic to Mrs Rudge’s ongoing difficulties.

“The trust has looked at ways of reducing similar complications arising again specifically with Mrs Rudge’s case in mind.”

She said: “I had a constant dull pain in my back, I wasn’t overly concerned about it but my mum insisted I see my GP.”

She was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon at Warrington Hospital who referred her to a spinal consultant.

In 2005, following a MRI scan and further tests, Michele was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, which affects the discs that sit between individual spinal vertebrae.

Her consultant recommended treatments to ease the pain, including having a disc removed or spinal fusion treatment, which involves permanently joining two or more vertebrae together.

Michele was told the fusion would be the best course of action as it would help alleviate her pain.

In April 2005 Michele had the surgery and said: “I was instantly concerned there was a problem – post operation both my legs felt very different and I had a huge amount of pain in my left thigh.

After four days she had another operation and learnt then that one of the screws used to connect the discs had been pushed in too far.