An Aberdeenshire mum has spoken of how surgeons used a 3D-printed skull to save her life following a devastating brain infection.
Morag MacRae, 37, from Banchory was diagnosed with the rare condition meningoencephalitis in October and will feature on BBC Scotland’s new TV series Junior Doctors: Life on the Wards, which will start at 10pm on Wednesday.
The mother-of-three was enjoying a two-week family holiday in Australia with her husband Martin, 40, seven-year-old daughter Holly and five-year-old twins Ben and Matthew when she became dangerously ill.
After experiencing sudden paralysis and losing the ability to speak, she was rushed to the hospital where doctors revealed her devastating diagnosis.
To help reduce the growing pressure in her head, surgeons temporarily removed half of her skull.
Surgeons create replacement skull using 3D printer
In March, the 37-year-old was admitted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) for a cranioplasty using a ceramic and titanium plate created on a 3D printer.
Experts anticipate Mrs MacRae’s skull will grow back through the place over the next decade.
Speaking to the The P&J about her ordeal, she said: “I got up in the morning and started feeling a bit dodgy, hearing noises, having sore muscles and I heard a ringing in my ear.
“We then flew to Brisbane and I wasn’t speaking much and I wasn’t communicating as much as I would normally.”
After further travel to the Sunshine Coast after being in the country for only a week, Mrs MacRae said she began to feel “really dodgy”, adding: “I couldn’t speak initially, I couldn’t move my right side and I was trying so hard to move my right side, that I flipped myself off the bed.”
At this, Mr MacRae jumped off the bed, noticing that there was something “seriously wrong” with his wife and phoned an ambulance.
This happened on the Saturday and Mrs MacRae said she does not remember anything until the following Tuesday.
During this time, she was rushed to hospital where she remained for six weeks before being transferred to hospital in Aberdeen from Australia – accompanied by two medical escorts on the flight – where she spent another six weeks.
Following her surgery, she was taken to the neuro rehab unit at the city’s Woodend Hospital, where she had to learn to walk, talk and swallow again.
‘Pretty much back to how things were’
Exactly four months after falling ill, she was discharged home; a month before her elective surgery.
Almost a year after her ordeal, she has miraculously recovered and Mrs MacRae says her life is “pretty much back to how things were”, saying: “I’m doing the school run, I was away at the weekend on my anniversary and I walked 10,000 steps.
“I still struggle with a few things, like my speech, and I still struggle with my right side, but only slightly, but I’m pretty much normal.”
She now plans to thank the doctors who helped save her life, adding: “Without those doctors I’d be dead and without these doctors in Aberdeen I wouldn’t have had the rehab that I’ve had.”
New TV series about ARI
The three-part series Junior Doctors: Life on the Wards, focusses on six first year junior doctors embarking on their medical careers at ARI.
Some of the doctors featured were born and raised in Aberdeen, whilst others were lured from across Scotland, England and as far afield as Malaysia.
In the first episode, Bilal carries out vital pre-op checks Morag ahead of her skull operation and observes a blood patch procedure on patient Lorraine, whilst Shanan tackles a tricky procedure, inserting a nasal feeding tube for an elderly patient.
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