Mystery donor hands over £130,000 to fund woman's life-changing spinal surgery

A mum whose rare spine condition could "internally decapitate" her at any moment has been given £130,000 by a mystery donor to undergo life-saving surgery.

Rachel Pighills, 35, had been trying to raise enough money for pioneering treatment in Spain after she was left with a neck injury. Wales Online reports that she had been moving into a new house when she struck her head on a ceiling fan while stood on a bed in August 2018, causing horrific injuries.

The freak accident left her with what's called 'atlanto axial instability and basilar invagination', where her brain is sinking into her spine and her skull is sliding down onto her neck. It has left her unable to turn her head in a certain direction as, each time she does, her spine partially dislocates and increases her risk of paralysis or death.

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Rachel and her husband Guy, 41, have been desperately trying to raise £350,000 for potentially life-saving treatment in Barcelona for the past two years and now, thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous benefactor, she will travel the 1,055 mile, 17-hour journey on May 20 in an old ambulance which will be driven by Guy as she is too unwell to fly.

Rachel, of Pershore, Worcestershire, said: "No amount of words can express what it means to us and how grateful we are. She really is our guardian angel.

"I can't believe somebody I've never even met could do such a thing for us. I'm terrified, I'm not going to lie. But we've got to do this. It's going to be hard but I'm excited as well as being terrified."

The benefactor from Warwickshire is a woman in her 60s, who reached out to Rachel and Guy after seeing her