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No Limits Photography for Epic Events<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhen Mel Sykes was diagnosed with a rare brain condition, she was left unable to walk in a straight line, let alone run in the races she loved entering. After undergoing surgery, the 42-year-old is now preparing to tackle the Spine Race – a gruelling ultramarathon through tough Pennine terrain.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mel, from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, was told she may never run again after her diagnosis with Chiari malformation, which affects balance. She completed an 18-mile race just months after a brain operation.<\/p>\n “I never thought I’d be up and about again – let alone doing crazy things like this,” she said. <\/p>\n Her symptoms started as double vision – which her GP was “not too concerned about” – but soon progressed to slurred speech, head tremors and pins and needles in her face. <\/p>\n She said: “Everyone kept asking me if I felt tired. At this point I had a full-time job and was running 100-mile races – I didn’t know what was normal tired or poorly tired.<\/p>\n “My colleagues were so supportive throughout all of the investigations but it became too difficult to manage my work with the double vision and I had to stop driving, so then I had to go off work. <\/p>\n “As soon as I did, all of the other symptoms came on pretty quickly.”<\/p>\n Mel was referred to a specialist neurosurgery team at Leeds General Infirmary and was immediately diagnosed by consultant neurosurgeon Ian Anderson, who said her case was “one of the most substantial” he had ever seen. <\/p>\n Mel recalled: “As soon as I saw Mr Anderson, he knew straight away. He said they didn’t get these very often. <\/p>\n “It was baffling that I actually felt well, except for the effect on my balance and my eyesight.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mel had her first appointment on a Tuesday, was admitted to hospital on the Friday, and by Monday was in theatre.<\/p>\n She said: “I was in tears. Not because I was scared, although I probably should have been knowing I was going to have brain surgery. <\/p>\n “But I was so relieved that I had an answer and that Mr Anderson was so sure he could fix it.”<\/p>\n Chiari malformation causes excessive amounts of the cerebellum part of the brain to push out through the bottom of the skull. <\/p>\n This then presses onto the spinal cord and brain stem, causing the symptoms Mel had. <\/p>\n After she came round Mel asked the doctors what the prognosis was. <\/p>\n “I asked them if I’d ever be able to run an ultramarathon again. <\/p>\n “They told me that they couldn’t guarantee I’d be able to run at all, let alone to the extremes I’d been doing. <\/p>\n “I had to accept it and concentrate on my recovery.”<\/p>\n Once Mel was discharged she spent time at her parents’ house, and friends and family would pick her up to take her out and about.<\/p>\n “I was up on my feet quite quickly but walking small distances at first, to the end of the street and back was all I could manage as long as a friend was with me.<\/p>\n “By the end of December 2023 I was able to start some slow running again.<\/p>\n “Then in February 2024, I ran an 18-mile race – just four months after brain surgery.<\/p>\n “I was able to stop wearing my glasses about three months ago as my vision is back to normal. <\/p>\n “Sometimes I’m a bit wobbly on my feet still but I’m doing great.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mel is currently training for her biggest race yet – 268-mile endurance run the Spine Race, which takes runners all the way along the Pennine Way from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland.<\/p>\n It starts on 12 January and each competitor has one week to complete it.<\/p>\n She added: “I really struggled to find anyone else who had the same thing as me, so I want to share my story as a way of encouraging others through it, and letting them know that recovery and getting back to your hobbies is possible.”<\/p>\n Mr Anderson, who operated on Mel, said: “Melanie is an inspirational patient. <\/p>\n “It’s humbling to see how courageous and determined our patients can be. <\/p>\n “I feel sure that her fantastic recovery is due, in no small amount, to her positive attitude.”<\/p>\n Listen to highlights from <\/i>West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds<\/a>, catch up with the latest <\/i>episode of Look North<\/i><\/a> or tell us a story you think <\/i>we should be covering here<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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Mel Sykes<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Mel](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/53b7\/live\/4a209eb0-cd0f-11ef-9768-07308e806a68.png.webp\")
Mel Sykes<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n