Storm Keating on horror of paralysis before emergency back surgery

Storm Keating has opened up about the horror of experiencing temporary paralysis ahead of emergency back surgery as she suffered from a spinal injury, explaining that her husband Ronan Keating was ‘crying in the car’ when she was in hospital during the pandemic.

Storm, who’s a fashion designer and blogger, has been married to Boyzone singer Ronan since 2015, with the pair sharing two children together.

In March this year, the 40-year-old underwent surgery after suffering from a prolapsed disc, which had become worse over time and was causing her a great deal of pain.

Speaking on Loose Women on Wednesday, she explained that she developed a rare condition called Cauda Equina Syndrome, which meant that her nerves were compressing so much on her spine that she couldn’t feel anything from the waist down.

Having been in hospital for a few days, with doctors saying they were going to let the pain die down, on day three, she said that when she woke up in her hospital bed, ‘everything from my waist down was completely numb’.

‘It was all gone. My legs, my bowel, my bladder, the lot,’ she said, as panelist Denise Welch reacted with shock.

Storm called her surgeon, who told her that he would be with her in just a few minutes’ time, before she was ‘whisked into the theatre’ for the emergency operation.

Because of Covid, Ronan, 44, couldn’t go into the hospital to see her, with Storm recollecting how he was left crying in the car as he waited to find out how her procedure had gone.

Storm expressed her gratitude over the successful surgery, outlining that while she can now walk, she does still feel some numbness in her right leg and foot, adding that it’s a ‘very small price to pay’.

Later on the ITV programme, Ronan joined Storm on the Loose Women panel, revealing that hearing her talk about her ordeal ‘brought back the same feeling’.

He remembered ‘bawling his eyes out’ in the car as he was left ‘not knowing what she was going through’ in hospital, adding that the incident marked the first time he had ever called an ambulance.

Ronan and Storm’s son Cooper was born in April 2017, while their daughter Coco was born in March 2020.

The singer has three children from his previous marriage to Yvonne Connolly – Jack, born in 1999, Marie, born in 2001 and Ali born in 2005.

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.

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