Date set for Macy’s life-changing surgery

12 May 2021

Next month 12-year-old Macy Handley will be having life-changing spinal surgery.

But her parents, West Midlands Police officers Toby and Kerry Handley, say they cannot thank enough everyone who has made the operation possible.

At the end of March, they issued an appeal to help them raise the £90,000 they needed for the pioneering operation which will enable Macy to live a normal life. At that point, they had already raised £50,000 but within weeks they had hit their initial target.

“We cannot thank West Midland Police Federation enough. The Federation published our appeal and we had such overwhelming support. I don’t know what we would have done without everyone’s help. We would have got to the total we needed, we would have found the money somehow I am sure, but it would probably have meant re-mortgaging our home and, of course, that would have a long-term impact on the whole family,” said Kerry.

“We are completely indebted to everyone who has helped us. All too often in policing we see the challenging side of human nature but the outpouring of support from people, many of whom are complete strangers, has just blown us away.”

The West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund donated £5,000 to the appeal and West Midlands Police Federation has agreed to give the family £1,000 to help with the ongoing costs involved in terms of travelling to and from London for consultations, hotel accommodation and so on

Toby, a firearms trainer and a former professional rugby player who has played for the British Police team as well as playing for clubs including West Hartlepool, Coventry and Stourbridge, has also been buoyed by support from his former team mates

He and Kerry noticed in July 2019 that Macy, who is also autistic, had a lump near her spine.

An x-ray uncovered abnormal curves in her spine as well as a rotation. Not long after, she was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis. She was given a brace to wear 20 hours a day. It was uncomfortable, restrictive and rubbed on her neck, impacting on her mental health.

Initially an x-ray showed the brace was working but further scans have now revealed the curve has increased and spinal fusion was considered.

Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT) which, in essence, is an internal brace is an alternative since the recovery is much quicker than fusion, there is better range of movement afterwards and scarring is less prominent.

The family has opted for this breakthrough treatment since it will offer her the best chance of growing up to have a close to normal life as possible.

Having launched the fund-raising appeal with a firm focus on raising enough money for the treatment, Kerry, who works in the early resolution team at Coventry, admits that the build-up to the surgery is having a massive mental impact on the whole family, including Macy’s younger sister and brother.

“They are really worried about it and it’s quite daunting for us all to take in. Macy’s really struggling and has had to be medicated for her anxiety but is posting blogs as a way for her to feel that she has some control and is helping others. She often breaks down crying petrified of having an operation but is trying her best to hold it together. The one thing that keeps her positive and strong is reading all the lovely messages on our JustGiving and Facebook pages. She’s overwhelmed with how kind and generous people she has never met have been,” said Kerry.

“She has been amazing even turned up for her first appointment with the consultant with a PowerPoint presentation she had put together to cover all the questions she wanted to ask.”

The operation will be carried out at St George’s Hospital in London on 8 June.
The family have had one slight setback. They believed the £90,000 they set out to raise would cover the operation and any follow-ups. But, in fact, it only covers the initial operation and five days’ care in hospital. Since they will need to make regular trips back to the hospital for check-ups, and possibly adjustments to the tether through keyhole procedures, they actually need to continue with the fund-raising.

“We’ve been advised to adjust our overall target to £110,000 to help cover the costs of follow-up consultations for the next three years while Macy’s spine is still growing and also for physiotherapy,” says Kerry.

Find out more and support the appeal.