Urgent Life-Changing Operation for our Olivia

This is my little sister Olivia.

She's 13-years-old and has brought so much joy to our tight-knit family of 5. She's always moving about whether that be on her roller-skates, skateboards, a bike, or just generally running about the place. She enjoys playing sports at school as a member of the netball team and not one day goes by where she doesn't know five new dances from Tik-Tok.

In November 2012 at age 5, Olivia was diagnosed with Scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine, with her spine curving at a 27-degree angle. Until recently, this was treated with a back brace which is used to try and straighten the spine.

Olivia's most recent x-ray, shown above, now shows her spine curving at a 62-degree angle and so now she will have to urgently undergo surgery to correct the curvature. We are in a race against the clock now in order to avoid anymore curving of her spine. 


To correct Scoliosis in the UK through the NHS, the only option is fusion surgery. This surgery would correct the curving of my sister's spine but leave her inflexible and due to her age, her spine would effectively stop growing whilst the rest of her body would continue to.

Other options do exist such as VBT surgery: Vertebral Body Tethering, which immediately corrects the curvature of the spine and allows it to grow straight so that by the time she has finished growing, she will be a regular young adult with a fully-flexible body. She will have a real shot at a normal, happy life which is all anyone really wants for a family member going through an illness.

This surgery is currently offered by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Alanay in Istanbul, Turkey, and my mother has already been in contact with him regarding surgery. This is the option we want for our Olivia in order to give her the best shot in life. 


We are against the clock.

We are fundraising £45,000, which will go towards having the VBT procedure done in Turkey by Prof. Dr. Alanay. The funds will be used to pay for the surgery, transport, and accommodation.  Our entire family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for your kind words, well wishes, and generosity. 

There are many stories online and in the media of the success of VBT surgery, and we hope by sharing the personal story of our Olivia, we can raise awareness for the plight of young girls and boys suffering from Scoliosis. Our entire family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for your kind words, well wishes, and generosity. 



I, Jonathan McMahon, with the consent of my parents Colin and Aundrea McMahon, will be the beneficiary for the fundraising on the go fund me page and will oversee all donated sums.

In order to be as transparent as possible so that our donors can see the difference they are making, we will be providing details of how the money is spent when we begin to look at surgery dates, flights, and accomodation.