Burgess Hill teenager, 16, living with ‘crippling condition’ publishes her own collection of poems

Lana-Mae Garrett, 16 was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension at the age of five and as she has grown up has endured 53 general anaesthetics for lumber punctures and surgeries, including ones to her brain and spine.

Natalie, Lana-Mae’s mum, said: “The condition can be so crippling for her. Some days she has to use her wheelchair because she can get really bad aches and can become really dizzy.”

Despite her ordeal, Lana-Mae has found time to write and publish a poetry collection with the help of her grandad.

Lana-Mae said: “I get inspiration for my poems through my surroundings, my feelings and I also write about topics that I find interesting.”

Lana-Mae hoped that her poems would help others become more aware of toxic relationships and ease them into finding self-love.

The teenager explained how she, with the help of her grandad, managed to pull the collection together and become published on Amazon.

“I used a self-publishing resource and with my grandad as my proofreader, we managed to finally get it published.

“My grandad has been there right from the start and was happy to help. He has been so supportive and he keeps my poetry in his cabinet.”

Along with her grandad, Lana-Mae also roped in her friends from school to lend a hand with the project.

She said: “I asked some of my friends to help produce some of the artwork for the book, which they were really excited about.”

Lana-Mae’s Sunrise: A Collection is now available to purchase on Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions and she is exploring avenues to get the book sold in bookshops.

Natalie expressed how proud she was of her daughter’s achievement.

She said: “Even with all her symptoms, she has strived on and is a incredibly brave and inspirational young woman.”

Lana-Mae is currently in the home stretch of her GCSEs and once she is finished, she is heading off to Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College to carry on her studies, and hopefully find some more inspiration for her poetry.