A lady says a routine fertility op went fallacious and left her in a lot ache it ‘ruined her life’

Natalie McGreevy, 33, says her life was turned upside down after endometriosis surgery and now fears she will never give birth

A woman claims a routine fertility op turned to horror when it went wrong mid-surgery – leaving her in such chronic pain it ‘ruined her life’.

Natalie McGreevy underwent endometriosis surgery in January 2024 to increase her chances of conception after spending £5,000 to freeze her eggs.

The 33-year-old says that it was ‘supposed to be a routine operation’ at University Hospital Coventry however there was an unexpected incident mid-surgery and she ‘almost died’ on the operating table.

The former marketing contractor said she now suffers with severe neuropathic pain, loss of leg sensation, daily bowel and bladder dysfunction and fertility complications.

This means Natalie’s housebound for weeks on end due to having difficulty standing and says she sometimes goes days without food due to being unable to cook.

Natalie is fundraising £6,000 for surgery that inserts a TENS machine-style device into her spine to help manage her chronic pain.

She is now no longer sure if she can carry a baby to term any more due to the medication she is on and after losing a baby in the early stages of pregnancy eight months after the op.

The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust confirmed that an issue occurred during Natalie’s surgery.

Natalie, from Coventry, West Midlands said: “It was supposed to be a minor, regular, day-in day-out surgery.

“It was just to remove the endometriosis tissue that they thought was potentially impacting my egg quality and blocking my egg tubes.

“It was supposed to be routine and they [had an issue during the surgery] and I crashed [which is a sudden drop in vital functions].

“I’d paid out £5,000 already to do egg freezing.

“To find out the surgery that was meant to unblock my tubes and make my body healthier to carry [a baby] had almost killed me […] I felt betrayed by the doctors.

“It’s taken everything, my life, my house, the things I used to enjoy.”

Natalie says prior to the operation she had flu-like symptoms around the time of her period, which were attributed to her endometriosis.

However an ‘issue’ occurred during the ‘routine’ procedure and Natalie’s life has been turned upside down.

After the operation she claims she started suffering with genitofemoral nerve pain and pudendal neuralgia – a chronic pain associated with the nerve that runs through the pelvis and supplies sensation to the genitals.

She says she has also since been diagnosed with myofascial perineal disorder – a condition characterised by pain in the pelvic region that is often caused by surgeries.

Now, Natalie says she has ‘no quality of life’ and that doctors have told her she’ll never fully recover.

Natalie said: “I was angry for a long time.

“I have to do two to three sessions of rehabilitation daily and if I don’t my hip will lock up. I’ve had falls in public as a result of it.

“The longest I’ve been stuck in my home is six weeks.

“The longest I’ve gone without eating is three or four days because I haven’t been able to stand up long enough to cook or go out to get food.

“I have no quality of life anymore.”

Natalie says she wants to give her body ‘a chance’ with the private treatment, but says as she’s now living on disability benefits she’s unable to afford the treatment herself.

You can donate to Natalie’s fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-nat-run-again

Natalie said: “The next step is they put a device in my spinal cord, it’s like a permanent TENS machine. The initial device costs £5,000 – £6,000 and then that lasts five years.

“My PIP doesn’t even cover the medical costs most months.

“I just want to be able to wake up one day, even if it’s not every day, I just want one day out of seven where I can have a few hours without meds and pain.

“I just want to be given a chance to have a better quality of life.”

The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust confirmed that an issue occurred during Natalie’s surgery.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust said: “We are unable to comment on the care of individual patients.

“We are committed to providing the safest possible care and encourage the patient to get in touch with us through the appropriate channels to ensure we can provide the right support.”