Teenager with rare spinal condition to undergo surgery in US

Fifteen-year-old Elisabet Joensen will undergo surgery in the United States after living with persistent back pain for four years, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

Joensen has Bertolotti syndrome, a rare congenital spinal condition. Her pain began when she was 11, and she was diagnosed with the condition earlier this year.

The condition makes it difficult for her to keep up at school and take part in sports.

“It is strange to feel that I might live without pain,” Joensen said.

Specialists in the United States with expertise in the condition have offered to operate on her. This type of surgery is not available in the Faroe Islands, and the specialists say it may ease her persistent back pain.

The operation costs around half a million. A fundraising campaign organised by Joensen’s family and the aid organisation Næstin has raised enough for her to finally have the surgery.