FARNHAM girl Laura Sylvester is continuing to fight for her life in the USA following several complications in her treatment for the rare, incurable genetic disease Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).

Laura, a 23-year-old former pupil of South Farnham School and chorister with Farnham Youth Choir, flew to Washington DC in January to undergo pioneering neurosurgery after raising a staggering £75,000 in just three weeks with the help of generous donations by the Farnham community.

However, following her initial surgery Laura began experiencing similar but differently-sourced neurological symptoms and has since had two further operations to preserve her lower body motor and sensory functions.

This was followed by the recent discovery of a major blood clot in her brain - which, while explaining many of her symptoms, leaves Laura at serious risk of a potentially fatal bleed or stroke if left untreated.

She subsequently underwent a painful lumbar puncture procedure last Friday, in which fluid was drained directly from her spine to relieve the pressure in her brain caused by the clot, and she is currently bed-bound while her neurosurgeon decides on the next course of action.

This will most likely result in brain surgery to remove the clot and put a stent or shunt in to prevent any further clots from forming in the future.

In a recent post to her blog site https://mind

bodyeds.me, Laura wrote: “I was told that if [the blood clot] was not discovered when it was, the chances of me still being alive today was near impossible.

“I still have not grasped the severity of the situation as it is so unbelievable. I keep replaying that moment in my head when I was encircled by my parents and my neurosurgeon who confirmed this diagnosis.

“This isn’t a dream. This is reality. This is actually what is going on. I felt so numb to the situation. But my answer to the neurosurgeon was ‘I’m going to fight this and not let it get the better of me’. Once again, my neurosurgeon has saved my life.”

Laura’s disease, the degenerative muscular condition EDS with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome, causes the connective tissues in her body to stretch and break - leaving her at constant risk of fatally damaging her brain stem.

She lives in constant pain and has already lost almost complete movement of her head and neck as a result of her first operation in January, as well as extreme numbness from her waist down and severe headaches.

However, far from giving up, Laura remains unfailingly optimistic and hopes her battle against the disease will inspire others facing adversity.

A student of petroleum geoscience at Imperial College London, she is determined to finish her degree and her plight has also received attention in the global oil industry trade magazine ‘Upstream’.

She continued: “Even though I have already endured so much, it has turned me into a relentless fighter who will not give up.

“While currently I may not understand why I am having to go through these life-challenges, I am not ready to stop my belief and determination to keep on living, and hopefully inspiring others to be strong no matter what life throws at you.

“Thank you all for your incredible support and love so far, and especially to my guardian angel watching over me.”

In order to fund the spiralling costs of her treatment by one of the very few experts in the world trained to perform EDS surgery, Dr Fraser Henderson, Laura has raised her fundraising target to £300,000.

She has already raised almost £180,000 via her webpage at www.youcaring.com/laura-sylvester-483048 and therefore needs another £120,000 to meet her goal.

Laura added: “Please help in any way you can by donating, praying, positive thinking, sending encouragement messages etc as my family and I are still in shock and so you can help me stay alive and bring me back home to England to be reunited with my family, friends and return to my 23-year-old life.”

Her mum, Jayne, has remained by her bedside in America since January while dad Kevin and twin-sister Rochelle have visited a number of times between leading the fundraising efforts back in the UK.

Most recently, this included a fundraising concert held at Frensham Heights School, where Laura’s mum teaches singing, last Thursday, raising £2,105 towards the appeal.

Following the concert, Laura’s dad Kevin told The Herald: “It was a fantastic event with nearly 80 people in attendance. Such a memorable occasion and a successful fundraising event for Laura.

“Frensham Heights’ head of music James Casselton and Roland Chadwick, peripatetic guitar teacher, organised the fundraising event on behalf of Laura to which the Sylvester family is very much indebted to both.”