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
HONEYMOON BRIDE DIED OF HEROIN OVERDOSE
A coroner stunned an inquest into a honeymooner who died abroad today by asking her husband if he was involved in her drugs death .
PRAIRIE DOG AND STARLING STAND-OFF
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut .
ADORABLE DOLPHINS VISIT AUSTRALIAN BEACH FOR BREAKFAST
SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .
WOMAN SAYS EATING BUBBLES WHILE PREGNANT WAS BETTER THAN SEX
A woman has told how her addiction to eating bath bubbles during her pregnancy was better than SEX .
FROZEN IN TIME LIGHTHOUSE
This frozen lighthouse in Michigan could easily be mistaken for a still from the snow swept disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow .
PAWS FOR THOUGHT: POLAR BEAR RELAXES IN SNOW
STARING intently into the camera, a polar bear appears to be lost in thought while relaxing in the snow .
PENSIONER’S 100K MILK BOTTLE COLLECTION
FOR someone who hates milk, pensioner Steve Wheeler has got an udder-lot of it - nearly 20,000 bottles in fact .
AMAZING THUNDERSTORM LIGHTS UP THE SARDINIAN COAST
POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .
I HID AWAY FOR YEARS AFTER DEVELOPING SORES ON MY FACE AND BODY - NOW I’M A DIVERSITY MODEL
A woman whose face and body was left scarred for life by angry sores, caused by Lupus, has become a diversity model .
BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION
A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .
POOCHES POSE IN THEIR ELABORATE HEADSCARF COLLECTION
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .