Macy’s in the swim after life-changing op

3 November 2021

At the start of June this year Macy Handley was undergoing life-changing spinal surgery with her West Midlands Police officer parents anxiously waiting to hear if it has been a success.

Now, only five months later, the determined 12-year-old is doing so well that the swimming club she joined to help with her rehabilitation programme has signed her up to take part in a swimming gala.

“It’s just amazing,” says Mum Kerry, “Macy has a personal trainer twice a week to help build up her core strength following the operation and started swimming as a way of improving her fitness too. Initially she was swimming at the University of Warwick but after being talent spotted Macy was selected to try out for Coventry Swimming Club of which she is now a member. She’s doing so well at competitive swimming that she’ll be competing in her first gala on 11 November.

“It’s incredible when you think that when she went into hospital for the operation we didn’t really know how successful it would be.

“But the consultant is really pleased with her and is confident that once she has stopped growing, which will be in around three or four years, she will be left with about a five per cent curvature of her spine, which is less than some people who do not have Macy’s condition.”

It could have all been very different, however, had it not been for the support of those who responded to a fundraising appeal launched by Kerry and husband Toby earlier this year.

Without the fundraising, the Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT) operation would have been delayed and that could have meant it was too late for Macy to be suitable for the pioneering treatment since there is a limited window of opportunity.

“I cannot thank the people who helped us enough,” says Kerry, “Everyone was so kind, and so generous with people who we didn’t even know giving money to the appeal.

“Without the surgery, Macy could have ended up having a fusion op and that would have left her with far less dramatic benefits. Watching her at the swimming pool the other day, I looked up to see her on the diving board and then curling over for the start position. That would not have been possible if she had undergone the fusion procedure.

“Last week we took Macy and our other two children to Devon and she was able to paddleboard with her younger brother and sister. It was fantastic to see her enjoying things that other children do. She is now just like any other girl of her age and, now that she is not wearing a back brace, is also starting to take an interest in fashion, something that always made her quite anxious before.

“This operation has changed her life and I cannot thank enough everyone who made it possible.”

At the end of March, Kerry and Toby issued an appeal to help them raise the £90,000 they needed for the operation which they believed would allow Macy to live a normal life. At that point, they had already raised £50,000 but within weeks they had hit their initial target with West Midlands Police Federation helping promote the appeal.

West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund donated £5,000 and West Midlands Police Federation has agreed to give the family £1,000 to help with the ongoing costs involved in terms of travelling to and from London for consultations, hotel accommodation and so on.

Kerry and Toby noticed in July 2019 that Macy, who is also autistic, had a lump near her spine.

An x-ray uncovered abnormal curves in her spine as well as a rotation. Not long after, she was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis. She was given a brace to wear 20 hours a day. It was uncomfortable, restrictive and rubbed on her neck, impacting on her mental health.

Initially, an x-ray showed the brace was working but further scans revealed the curve has increased and spinal fusion was considered.

VBT, in essence, provides an internal brace and was an alternative favoured by the couple since the recovery is much quicker than fusion, there is better range of movement afterwards and scarring is less prominent.

Having launched the fund-raising appeal with a firm focus on raising enough money for the treatment, Kerry, who works in the early resolution team at Coventry, said the build-up to the surgery had a massive mental impact on the whole family.

The operation was carried out at St George’s Hospital in London on 8 June and Macy has since returned for an x-ray which revealed that it had all been a success.

Macy herself has coped incredibly well with everything she has been through and she has now become a mentor to other children as they approach the VBT surgery, offering them advice, support and encouragement.

As well as her personal training sessions and her swimming, Macy is also having weekly aromatherapy massage to help her body and mind relax. But she says the swimming is also boosting her mental health.

“Macy really enjoys it. She explained it to me that when she is under water, it’s quiet and she feels free,” says Kerry.