England woman, 33, suffers from rare disorder that could “decapitate” her at any moment

Rachel Pighills, 33, of Worcester, England, suffers from a rare disorder that could “internally decapitate” her at any moment, The Daily Mail reported.

She has atlantoaxial instability, which is defined by excessive movement between the first and second vertebrae of her neck. This causes her spine to partially dislocate every time she turns her head to the left, increasing her risk of paralysis.

Pighills is forced to wear a neck brace to prevent a life-threatening dislocation that could decapitate her from the inside, killing her “instantly.”

“I live in constant fear of paralysis and death. It’s hard to describe that feeling,” she said. “I feel like I can’t do anything. I go to work for a few hours a day, come home and lie horizontally on the couch. (…). I hardly sleep.”

Pighills was fit and healthy until August 2017, but then she began vomiting without warning; this also caused her to lose 38kg in just six weeks.

The woman visited various doctors and underwent numerous examinations, but no one was able to accurately diagnose her illness.

And it was solely with the involvement of foreign specialists that it had been possible to find out the cause of her misfortunes.

And with only three surgeons in the world able to operate on her delicate spine, Rachel Pighills is now fundraising £135,000 ($163,000) for an operation in Spain that will fuse her neck and skull.

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