'Doctors gave me a 50/50 chance when I was sick' - Shan George

Shan George in an interview revealed how she survived a spine surgery in 2019 and the effects it had in her career.

Shan George says she was given a 50/50 chance of surviving surgery after she suffered a spine disease.

The veteran actress made this known during a chat with Sunday Scoop. According to her, what started off as a swollen leg landed her in the hospital. She went on to talk about how the illness later left her bedridden for months.

"Sometime in late 2018, I had just finished organising the artists that would be on the governor’s band for the Calabar carnival in December. After all the rigorous activities, I suddenly realised that my knee was swollen. I didn’t understand what was going on, so I just attributed it to the carnival stress. I took some drugs and rested for a couple of days expecting to be up and about in a couple of days...

#Repost @punchnewspapers (@get_repost) ・・・ Popular actress, Shan George, has said that she was given a 50-50 chance by her doctors in 2019 after a terrible sickness that disrupted her career. . She told Sunday Scoop, “Sometime in late 2018, I had just finished organising the artistes that would be on the governor’s band for the Calabar carnival in December. After all the rigorous activities, I suddenly realised that my knee was swollen. I didn’t understand what was going on, so I just attributed it to the carnival stress. I took some drugs and rested for a couple of days expecting to be up and about in a couple of days. . "However, by early January, the pain had increased. I kept managing it by using pain killers, but by March, it had become worse. I then started going to hospitals to find out what was wrong. . “Eight months later, my left leg was almost paralysed. I was already bedridden for some months. That was when my doctor asked me to do a series of tests because I had been on medication since January and I wasn’t getting any better. They wanted to know if there was any disease in me that had been feeding on the medications I was taking. All the tests came out negative and they had to do a MRI scan. After the scan, they found out I had lumbar spondylosis, which is a disease of the spine. There is no medication for it and they told me it was a surgery that could correct it; it was a 50/50 situation. I had the surgery on August 29, 2019, and it was successful. (As a result of the illness), I didn’t do anything for the whole of 2019. . “However, my first son really encouraged me. I was really scared and he said, ‘You know you are a child of God. You fear God; worship and pray to Him all the time’. He told me not be afraid, that the surgery would be successful. . “I was also scared because I didn’t have the finances to go for a surgery abroad. I had just finished making a movie and my mum had been ill for a while. I was very scared of death and not being able to walk again.” ........... #nollywood #illness #shangeorge #doctors #lumbarspondylosis #punchnewspapers Photo credit: @tejiriimagery #ShanGeorge

"However, by early January, the pain had increased. I kept managing it by using pain killers, but by March, it had become worse. I then started going to hospitals to find out what was wrong. Eight months later, my left leg was almost paralysed. I was already bedridden for some months. That was when my doctor asked me to do a series of tests because I had been on medication since January and I wasn’t getting any better. They wanted to know if there was any disease in me that had been feeding on the medications I was taking," she said.

For Shan George, the effects of her illness disrupted her career in 2019 making her jobless throughout the year.

Shan George says she was given a 50/50 chance of surviving surgery after she suffered a spine disease. [Instagram/ShanGeorgeFilms]

"All the tests came out negative and they had to do an MRI scan. After the scan, they found out I had lumbar spondylosis, which is a disease of the spine. There is no medication for it and they told me it was a surgery that could correct it; it was a 50/50 situation. I had the surgery on August 29, 2019, and it was successful. (As a result of the illness), I didn’t do anything for the whole of 2019," she added.

For Shan George, the effects of her illness disrupted her career in 2019 making her jobless throughout the year. [Instagram/ShanGeorgeFilms]

The news of Shan George's surgery first broke in 2019 after she shared photos from the hospital where the surgery was held.

The surgery...

The news of Shan George's surgery first broke in 2019 after she shared photos from the hospital where the surgery was held. [Instagram/ShanGeorgeFilms]

The actress narrated how she feared the process as it was “a very delicate surgery that can render her permanently paralysed for d rest of her life if not properly done. She went on to hint that though the surgery was carried out in a hospital in Abuja, the cost ran into several millions of Naira. “...the bill for such surgery runs into millions of naira...

"I want to say a very big thank u to some good friends and family who went out of their way to support with d huge surgery bill, I will never forget u for supporting instead of looking for lame heartless reasons and excuses not to help. God bless u all immensely,” she said.

In 1997, George featured in a soap opera titled ‘Winds of Destiny’ after which she made her debut in the movie, ‘Thorns of Rose’. [Instagram/ShanGeorgeFilms]

According to the Spine Health website, George’s surgery would cost at least $77,000 (N27, 951, 000) in the United States of America. In 1997, George featured in a soap opera titled ‘Winds of Destiny’ after which she made her debut in the movie, ‘Thorns of Rose’.