A mother-of-two has been warned she may never walk again after two hospitals failed to correctly identify a shattered disc in her back.

Two hospitals failed to correctly identify a shattered disc in Emma Robinson’s back, meaning she is now in a wheelchair and has to have morphine every 10 minutes to control the pain.

She has been told there is no guarantee she will regain the feeling in her lower body.

The 27-year-old’s friends are raising money to help keep her and her boys, aged eight and four, together as the rehabilitation threatens to separate them for weeks on end.

She fell down the stairs in her home on March 15, taking over-the-counter pain relief, before a physio found her spine was out of alignment and she was sent to Medway Maritime Hospital with a letter requesting an MRI.

But the scan was not carried out; instead they did an X-ray, and sent her home to rest.

Increasing pain led her to seek a second opinion at Maidstone Hospital – where she was told she had a broken coccyx, and nothing could be done.

Despite taking pain relief, Emma felt tingling and numbness in one of her legs and had to concentrate hard simply to go to the toilet.

GPs also told her there was nothing to worry about and sent her home to master “pain management”, instructing her to walk more and telling her she was fit to drive.

On April 7, Emma sought help again but at this GP appointment, an internal examination left her unable to walk and she was taken by ambulance to Medway hospital where an MRI revealed no broken coccyx.

When doctors tried, once again, to send her home, Emma’s friend, Charlotte Hayes, insisted she stick around for a second opinion which resulted in her being rushed to King’s College Hospital in London for emergency surgery.

Friend Ellen Green said: “How on earth could she have been have been misdiagnosed so many times after presenting herself to various different health professionals?”

Within two weeks Emma had undergone a discectomy and a laminectomy – also known as decompression surgery – which has completely taken away the compression of the nerves but left her unable to feel her legs.

Doctors are unable to say whether she will recover feeling.

Ellen says friends and family are fully supportive of her pursuing a case for medical negligence.

“She was told that being misdiagnosed for so long is why she had such bad nerve damage,” she said.

“She has been pushed from pillar to post and it’s not good enough. She used to be so independent and active – she’s just get up and say ‘right, we’re going’.”

Both Medway and Maidstone hospitals said they were unable to comment on individual cases but said they urge patients with concerns to make contact.

Bev Critchlow, deputy director of nursing at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We take complaints or concerns about patient care and safety extremely seriously.

“We’ve received no feedback to date concerning this patient’s care. Due to reasons of patient confidentiality, it would be inappropriate to provide any further comment.

“We would, however, urge patients who feel that we have not delivered the safe and compassionate care they deserve to contact our Patient and Advice Liaison Service.”

A Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust spokesman said: “We can’t comment on specific patient information, however we would encourage Ms Robinson to contact us so we can discuss her experience.”

The next step is for Emma to go to a specialist hospital in Oxfordshire where she would be an inpatient for six months.

In order for her to see her family, she could be transferred to a hospital in Orpington for up to two weeks before being transferred as an Oxfordshire outpatient.

Treatment would be required twice a week or once every two weeks for the weekend.

To accomplish this, Emma would need to self-fund the expenses, including travel and living costs.

Friends have set up a fundraising page – with a target of £1,000 - to help keep the family together.

Emma says she is hugely grateful for all the support she has received.

“I really want to thank my friends and family for rallying round, and for keeping things going while I have been unwell,” she said.

To help Emma and her family, visit https://www.gofundme.com/uaz9s58k