A PWLLHELI woman who is lucky to be alive has said a special thank-you to the community which helped her raise £35,000 to undergo a life-saving operation in New York.

Amanda Jane Morris was diagnosed with a brain stem tumour when she was just 18 and serving in the RAF.

After her diagnosis, Amanda underwent eight operations in the UK and received a ninth successful procedure in New York in 1995.

Now 47, she is raising money for charity and has held a special exhibition in Pwllheli to say thanks for the amazing help she received.

She said: “I had gone through eight operations after I was diagnosed when I was just 18 years old in London, but in 1995 I was told the doctors could do no more for me and I was sent home to die.

“My grandmother then tracked down the amazing New York-based Professor Fred Epstein, one of the world’s leading neurosurgeons, and asked if he could operate on my non-operative tumour.

“The operation cost £35,000 and at the time the Amanda Morris Appeal was set up, which saw the community come together to help raise funds to get me to the States, along with help from my grandmother.

“The operation was successful; I am still here, disabled but alive. I am still loving life, as hard as it can be sometimes, and I never give in.”

See the full story in this week’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News