Woman once told she 'should be dead' has had 35 operations

Woman once told she 'should be dead' has had 35 operations View 4 Images

Meet the woman who has had surgery 35 times in 28 years - first going under the knife when she was just 14. Emma Sheppard, 42, first started suffering from agonising stomach pain at eight years old.

Doctors initially thought it was psychological - a result of bullying - and Emma spent years believing it was "all in [her] head". But when her issues continued Emma, from Dudley, West Midlands, underwent further tests.

She was finally diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, also known as 'painful bladder syndrome', which led to a series of surgeries. Over the past few years, Emma has had her bladder, uterus and cervix removed, as well as parts of her colon and bowel. In total, she has had 35 surgeries, with her most re