Mother saved 250,000 KO surgery after fraud alert issued by bank while she was trying to pay

In America, the operation of a mother who saved her life was canceled because she was preparing for an operation after her bank had triggered a fraud alert when she had tried to pay doctors.

Samantha Smith, 32, says Barclays has blocked the £ 250,000 deal, while she warned her that she would go ahead, which forced the company to sell it. hospital to postpone the procedure.

She was lying in bed being prepared for vital neurosurgery at 5 am local time, when the doctors dealt the devastating blow, reports Rochdale News.

The mother of two children from Smithy Bridge, near Rochdale, Manchester, had gone to Arizona to participate in the neck reconstruction operation, weakened by the Ehlers Danlos syndrome.

In 2017, she was diagnosed with a rare connective tissue disorder, which left her too weak to hold her head straight without splinting, which put her at risk of internal decapitation.

It also caused pressure on his brainstem, according to the BBC, with the spinal fusion procedure neither offered nor funded by the NHS.

Along with her family and friends, psychotherapist Ms. Smith funded the money needed, but the transaction was interrupted by Barclays as she tried to pay the pre-operative fee to Mayo Clinic.

After being beaten with the bank for two hours, Mrs. Smith said that they had finally lifted the restrictions – at that time, the hospital had canceled the operation.

She said it was "rough" to have surgery done, especially since she had the money to pay for it.

It was booked last November and it has not yet received a new date for its operation.

Addressing Rochdale News, she said, "In order for the money to be withdrawn, money that we have … We lost the surgical appointment.

"There has been a complaint with Barclays but it can take up to eight weeks to be resolved.

"I was on the phone with them for hours shouting that I had lost the date that it took months to get it."

The mother, who is still in America, said she hoped the hospital could reorganize the surgery during her stay so she would not have to pay the costs of pre-operative tests a second time.

A spokesman for Barclays said the bank took the protection of money and information from its customers extremely seriously.

"We have a duty to ensure that transactions of an unusual nature are authenticated with the customer," he added.

"We have now established contact with the customer and we are helping to solve the problem so that the payment can be processed as quickly as possible."

The hospital could not contact to comment.

On her GoFundMe page, launched in July 2018, Samantha describes her "battle for her own life".

She wrote, "Now I have to raise money for my own life and for my babies to have the mom they desperately need and deserve.

"I have constant neck, head and spine pain and, week after week, my neurological damage is becoming more difficult to ignore."

The page continues: "In 2017, Samantha became very sick very quickly and neurosurgeons found that the weight of her skull caused the spine to collapse due to weak tissue.

"She lost her private psychotherapy clinic for which she tried to build and where she became bedridden.

"Brainstem and spinal cord damage caused intermittent paralysis, becoming wheelchair-dependent and unable to stand up straight without distressing pain and memory loss.

"She risked internal decapitation.

"Three surgeons from around the world were able to carry out the operation she desperately needed in America. #SaveSamantha fundraising was a great success and Sam underwent three life-saving surgeries." in August and September 2017.

"She learned to walk again and did some research and rehabilitated, due to the lack of NHS badistance for EDS patients with her disease in the UK."

"Samantha's health has recently declined and she was shocked to learn that her spine is more unstable than originally thought the surgeons and that the flexible scaffold used to merge her into 2017 was not aggressive enough to ensure his safety.

"Her body has been one of the few to reject bone marrow transplantation and her spine is still dangerously unstable, causing the reappearance of scary symptoms, including heart damage, memory problems, pain, and pain. movements, as well as multiple dislocations of the neck and vertebrae each day.

"Samantha is no longer independent and will be facing paralysis, organ failure and eventual death without more aggressive and urgent neurosurgery in the United States.

"This aggressive neurosurgery will remove any movement of her skull and spine, but will save her life and end the damage to her spine and her organs.

"His children are desperate for their mom.

"Please, help give Samantha the chance for which she bravely fought so hard."