A mother told she had terminal cancer by doctors who ignored her pleas for help 13 times has made a miracle recovery following the UK's first operation of its kind. Ruth McDonagh was repeatedly turned away by medics over the course of two years despite suffering from the classic symptoms of bowel cancer. By the time it was diagnosed, she was told she had just 18 months left to live as a huge tumour in her bowel had grown so large it was almost inoperable. Her only option was a £100,000 operation only available in the US which was certain to leave her paralysed from the waist down. But at the eleventh hour a team of UK doctors trained in the American technique agreed to carry out Ruth's surgery in a 13-hour operation never before carried out in this country.
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
An NHS 111 call handler who was forced to save her own life after contracting sepsis has walked down the aisle at her dream wedding .
Amanda Bohm, 22, and her mum, Janet, 58, were the best of friends .
A deranged dad beat his girlfriend so savagely in a vicious 30 minute attack that the indent of his sovereign ring was left on her face .
SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .
Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .
Most women would jump at the chance to put on some lipstick, sling on a pair of heels and head out for a romantic meal with their other half .
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
A SERENE turquoise glow glimmers from underneath these powerful icebergs .