JULIA CARLILE IS a member of Britain’s Got Talent dance troupe MerseyGirls.
They’re a group of friends from Liverpool who decided to form a troupe when they were 13-years-old and dancing for fun in a friends garden.
The 15-year-old dancer revealed on the show that she suffers with Scoliosis, a condition which causes the spine to curve sideways and can be very painful.
Of course, this undoubtedly would have a negative impact on her performances with MerseyGirls.
Sadly, the only surgery available to her in the UK would have left her unable to dance again. It turned out that a more advanced surgery was available in the United States, one that would be much easier to recover from.
The procedure, called ‘vertebral body tethering’ takes just six weeks to recover from and it is reversible if it doesn’t work. However, it’s not available on the NHS.
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Simon told the young woman that she had an ‘amazing attitude’ about her condition. MerseyGirls later said that they entered the show with intentions of winning and using the prize money to pay for Julia’s surgery.
They eventually came in ninth place in the competition which had 40 contestants.
Simon Cowell intervened after their semi-final performance and arranged the surgery. Julia’s family had saved just £4,000 of the £78,000 plus airfare that it would cost to correct her Scoliosis.
Julia told the Liverpool Echo that she was very nervous before having the surgery, saying “It’s very dangerous because it’s connected to your brain. I’ve watched a video. It’s scary.”
However, it was a necessary measure because she’s dealing with severe pain daily.
I’m in a lot of pain every day. My ribs and hips touch, so some movements really hurt. Standing up for a long time is painful, and it’s bad in the mornings. I try not to complain, but I have to wear my back brace in bed and my friends are always nagging me to wear it in the day too.
Her mother is astounded at the kindness of Simon Cowell and anyone else who offered them a hand getting over to America. Julia’s now on the mend after the first of a series of operations.
They even managed to bring Julia’s nana over to America to surprise her and support her through the surgery.
