ITV's This Morning contributor and life coach Michelle Elman has shared a shocking health update with her followers, revealing she has undergone major brain surgery after a critical tube in her skull broke. The 32-year-old explained the terrifying situation meant her brain was 'filling up with water', requiring a complex and high-risk operation.
A Lifelong Health Battle
Michelle Elman has contended with serious health issues from birth. She was born with hydrocephalus, a condition causing a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid on the brain. Doctors later discovered she had also been born with a brain tumour. To manage the hydrocephalus, a tube (shunt) with a magnet was implanted to control fluid flow. Before the age of 20, Michelle had endured 15 separate surgeries, including procedures for an obstructed bowel and punctured intestine.
In a recent series of candid Instagram posts from her hospital bed, her head wrapped in bandages, Michelle charted her latest medical crisis. She revealed that last November, scans showed she needed another operation due to a new brain cyst and a magnet that required replacing. However, the situation became more urgent when surgeons discovered the existing tube in her brain was broken.
'Complex' and 'High Risk' Surgery
"They discovered the tube in my brain was broken – and that wasn’t even the part they were fixing," Michelle wrote. Reflecting on the years the tube may have been faulty, she added, "Now I’m just sat here wondering how I wrote a whole f**king book with my brain filling with water for years?!?!"
She described facing a choice between a higher or lower risk surgical approach. Opting for the higher risk procedure, Michelle stated, "There was a chance the high risk would just result in me being opened for nothing... I took the higher risk and it paid off." With characteristic dark humour, she joked, "Who needs the high from gambling when you can play roulette with your life?!"
Expressing slight frustration with medical terminology, she declared, "If one more person keeps telling me I’m a 'complex case', 'extremely unique' or 'unheard of', my brain might actually explode! I’m only accepting the terms 'medical miracle' from now on."
Creating Content from a Hospital Bed
Despite her recovery, which includes having a tube draining her brain and being unable to lift her head, Michelle is determined to continue working. Last week, she asked fans to help her "pretend she's not in hospital" as she makes online content from her bed.
"After the experience I've had the last three months, especially because it was brain surgeries and affecting how my brain functioned, if I have a brain, I want to be able to use it," she explained. "This is me at my worst, and that's OK, because what I have to say is more important."
This is not the first time Michelle has spoken publicly about her traumatic health journey. In 2018, she appeared on Loose Women and recounted clinically 'dying' aged 11 after flat-lining following brain surgery. She described a peaceful sensation of floating above her bed, aiming to offer solace to others about the nature of such an experience.
Fans of the TV star have flooded her social media with messages of love and support following her brave and detailed updates.
