A WOMAN has praised hospital staff for performing lifesaving surgery after her bowels burst inside her stomach.

Helen Harding, from Worcester, has spoken out about her experience after spending her first wedding anniversary at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Mrs Harding, aged 36, had been suffering with ‘terrible’ abdominal pain for five years on and off.

Despite her visiting her GP twice for a check-up, she was told it was a kidney infection.

On November 30, she went to A&E where she had a CT scan and was told she would need emergency surgery as her bowel was about to perforate.

She said: “It terrifies me what happened. I was asked to sign a form which said there was a risk to the surgery.

READ MORE:

Student nurse from Worcester University joins fight against Coronavirus

Police helps driver, 87, who hadn't returned home for nine hours after going shopping

“I was told it was this or death. It was a miracle. I believe a guardian angel was watching over me.

“How did it go from kidney problems to this?

“When they opened me up in surgery my bowel had already burst. The contents of my bowel were already in my body.”

She left the hospital on January 3 after spending a month in the intensive care unit.

Mrs Harding now has two stoma bags due to the removal of her appendix and part of her bowel.

A stoma is an opening in the abdomen that allows waste to exit the body, rather than going through the digestive system.

She added: “I spent my first wedding anniversary, Christmas and New Year in hospital.

“I still can’t walk or make a cup of tea. There are days I am sat on the sofa crying but other days I put on a brave face.

“It is amazing how much it has affected my life. But it could’ve been a lot worse.

“Five months on I still can’t lie on my side – I am having to sleep upright on the sofa.

“They’ve told me to rule this year out to recover.”

She said the staff saved her life and she “wouldn’t be here now without them.”

Her husband Paul, who she jointly runs the education service Discover History with, has become her carer.

She added: "I had to cancel Discover History events because I was in so much pain, which is something we have never done.

"Whenever we go out we have to take spare clothes with us. We can't just pop out anymore to a coffee shop.

"It's all been a lot to take in."