‘Animals are treated far better’ than a ten-year-old girl who is awaiting spinal surgery, her mother has told Lunchtime Live.

Kylie Ann Stewart was born with a spinal curvature.

In 2018 she was finally deemed ready to undergo scoliosis surgery by doctors at Temple Street Hospital.

Five years have now passed and several dates that were planned for the procedure to take place have been scrapped.

On Lunchtime Live, her mother Katherine Stewart said her family is running out of patience.

“It's heartbreaking," she said. "If we had got her surgery back in 2022, we wouldn’t be facing what we’re facing today.

“Heartbreaking for the child, for us, and for the family to watch. Every day it’s [the spinal curve] getting bigger and nobody is helping.”

Katherine said things have taken a turn for the worse lately.

“A few weeks ago, I noticed my daughter had what I would call a spongy circle on the bottom of her spine,” she said.

“I knew there was something going on, it just didn’t look right – it was quite red.

“At that stage, myself and my husband were both trying to get in contact with Crumlin Hospital because I knew something wasn’t right.”

Kylie Ann Stewart pictured on her tenth birthday earlier this year.

Kylie Ann was sent for an x-ray and tests but she has still received no date for the operation.

Her spinal curve has now become so bad, it’s leaving marks on her wheelchair.

“Even when she’s sitting in her wheelchair I can see where the track of her bones is pushing in,” said Katherine.

“You can see the indent in the cushion when you take her out.

“It shows you how sharp her spine is, that it’s pushing in and leaving a mark on her wheelchair.”

Pain

Katherine said her daughter has been in a lot of pain lately.

“She’s in the chair a lot more when she’s at school and it’s causing her a lot of pain, she’s complaining a lot more since she’s been back at school over the last few months,” she said.

“All we want now as a family is a date for the surgery, to know where we are going, and we don’t want to be pushed into February or March.

“We want to be given a date and to get to that date, but it’s happened so many times now that even when I’m given a date, I can’t trust it.”

What's next

Asked what would happen if Kylie Ann does not get the surgery she needs shortly, her mother said, “I don’t even want to think about it”.

“I’m trying to block it out,” said Katherine.

“At this stage she just needs it; the people who are making decisions need to listen to people like us and try to walk in [Kylie’s] shoes for one day of her life.

“Animals are treated far better than our daughter.”

Katherine added that she also feels bad for the surgeons because their job “is being made ten times harder” by people making the decisions.

Listen back now:

Main Image: Ten-year-old Kylie Stewart has been awaiting spinal surgery since 2018.