内容摘要：He spoke of our brains’ cleansing system, which functions during our slumber by washing away the beta-amyloid and tau proteins - these are “two of the main culprits underlying Alzheimer’s”.

He spoke of our brains’ cleansing system, which functions during our slumber by washing away the beta-amyloid and tau proteins - these are “two of the main culprits underlying Alzheimer’s”.

The operation is complex, and it’s only the start of a long process.“The lengthening process takes about two or three months and then you have at least double that time before you’ve recovered reasonable function,” warns Prof Hamish Simpson, former council member of the British Orthopaedic Association. “For most people, it's going to take a year out of your life.”

Once surgery was over, Elaine’s lengthening process began. Several times a day she carried out an uncomfortable regimen, rotating her legs to trigger the rod’s ratchet mechanism. This is what makes the nail lengthen and her legs grow. But two weeks later, she says disaster struck.“I’d been feeling a lot of pain in my left leg. Then one night, while I was moving around in bed, I heard what sounded like a Kit Kat crunch, followed by severe pain.”Elaine went in for a scan, which confirmed her fears. The nail in her left leg had broken through her femur - the thigh bone - the strongest bone in the human body. She was distraught, but she says she was reassured by Dr Guichet.

“He told me that all you need to do now is not worry. Wait for it to heal and once it's healed, we’ll begin the process again.”They would continue lengthening Elaine’s right leg, while scheduling another operation to deal with her left leg - which would eventually be lengthened the same amount as the right.

Elaine says she was told the extra operation would cost thousands of pounds, but was happy to pay if it meant she could see the process through.

By September, her right leg had reached its 7cm target. But things weren’t quite right. The discrepancy between her right and left leg was causing problems, curving her spine and leaving her in constant pain."If people want to get in touch with us, it would be great to go and visit them," said Sabina Yakub, from the NHS Wellbeing Line.

The Hug in a Mug van, kitted out with a coffee machine and oven, has been touring the county.Ellie Marsh, an assistant psychologist from the NHS trust, said the purpose of the programme is to "unlock conversations about mental health and well-being" among health and social care staff as well as serve them drinks and food.

"We recognise there is a cost to caring and we want to help people access the right support for them if they are struggling," she said.The initiative also offers support to people in leadership roles.