IRISH WOMAN FIRST ADULT IN WORLD TO GET BIONIC SPINE
AN Irish woman has become the first adult in the world to receive a revolutionary REMOTE CONTROLLED 'ROBO SPINE', which uses magnets to combat the effects of scoliosis. Deirdre McDonnell, 34, from Drogheda, County Louth, can now stand tall for the first time after undergoing the pioneering MAGEC rod operation. The operation, also known as the magnetic expansion control system, involves the insertion of a magnetic rod that is screwed onto the spine and controlled externally in order to correct the curvature caused by scoliosis. Up until now, the £15K procedure has only been performed on children, as it was thought only to be effective for early onset scoliosis - typically diagnosed before the age of ten.
Other great stories
CAN YOU TWERK IT OUT? - MILEY CYRUS LOOKALIKE
Walking down the street in her local town, heads turn as Jessica Villafane passes by .
CCTV CAPTURES NEWSREADER WALKING INTO A CANAL WHILE TEXTING
THIS is the shocking moment a clumsy radio newsreader plunged into a freezing canal while texting her boyfriend instead of looking where she was going .
CHIPS IN: MAN MAKES £4K A MONTH SENDING POTATOES IN THE POST
A man has made a SPUD-TACULAR amount of money sending potatoes in the post .
WOMAN LOSES 11ST AFTER £11K GASTRIC SLEEVE OP
A woman has shed half her body weight after undergoing a gastric sleeve op to shrink her stomach .
FROG FRIENDS
PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .
THE DEVIL'S OWN GOAL: CLUB RENAMES STADIUM IN SATAN'S NAME
football club has scored an own goal after it had to embarrassingly rename its stadium in honour of the DEVIL .
SCUBA-DUPER DIVER BREAKS RECORD FOR 50 HOURS UNDERWATER
A British diver has set a new world record for the longest warm water scuba dive by spending a mammoth 49 hours and 56 minutes under water .
WOMAN ‘DIED’ GIVING BIRTH TO HER SON DUE TO HER 19ST FRAME SO SHE LOST 8ST 13LBS AND NOW SHE’S A SIZE 8-10
At 19st and eight months pregnant, Ashley Whitfield, went into hospital to have her baby son, Isaac, delivered by emergency C-section .
LIQUID SCULPTURES
A BEAUTIFUL sight for the eyes and the imagination, these liquid sculptures take shape in many different colours and formations .
POLE-DANCING MUM CELEBRATES PREGNANCIES WITH WACKY STUNTS
A mum has celebrated each of her four pregnancies with a host of wacky stunts - including acrobatics, aerial contortion, pole-dancing and risque photo shoots .
KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES
THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .
BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .