A mum with terminal cancer claims her life-saving surgery has been axed with just two days' notice - because the specialist travelling to the UK for the appointment would need to self-isolate.
Mum-of-one Lisa, 40, was diagnosed with terminal grade-four multifocal glioblastoma - the most lethal of all brain cancers - in March 2020 and given just 12 to 18 months to live.
But her mother Jackie Wardropper's GoFundMe page managed to raise more than £125,000 to fund private treatment and Lisa's laser ablation surgery was scheduled to take place in London on June 1.
However Lisa received the crushing news on May 29 that her surgery at Harley Street Clinic had been cancelled as Germany had changed their Covid travel rules on arrivals from the UK.
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The country's 14-day quarantine rule meant a key member of the medical device manufacturer Zimmer Biomet robotics team would not be allowed to fly - as he had 10 other operations to attend back in Germany, according to Lisa's mum.
Jackie, 72, believes Lisa has been 'sacrificed' thanks to the quarantine rules - and fears Lisa's swift 'downward slope' means future treatment will be too late.
Jackie, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said: "Lisa has been sacrificed for these 10 other people. She was sacrificed for the greater good.
"We're all devastated and trying to pick up the pieces. This now leaves us with nothing. If they can't do the operation here, we only have this one slot in time.
"Because it's a laser, it's only suitable for very small tumours. If it gets any bigger, it's not going to take away the whole tumour.
"It's not going to be worth doing. It's a now or never situation."
Lisa had begun to feel a lot better earlier this year after a dendritic cell vaccine treatment, which allowed her to have two stable scans, meaning her cancer had not grown any further.
But in April, shortly after enjoying a day out with her family, Lisa had a major seizure, which left medics struggling to stabilise her for seven hours.
The following day, an MRI found it had 'grown like a tree' across her brain, along with flare-ups in her other tumours.
Jackie said: "After that, she couldn't talk. She was in a really bad way.
"She had the MRI scan, they could see this new area of growth in the trigone. It's quite a key area of the brain because, from there, the tumour grows like a tree through the brain.
"It's heading to the centre of the brain where it can jump from one side to the other.
"They couldn't do conventional surgery because this area of growth is deep in the brain."
The family then explored their options and Jackie had heard of a treatment called Visualase, which helps to treat tumours that were previously considered inoperable.
After a series of consultations, Lisa was told she would be an appropriate candidate for surgery and Jackie claims the date was set for June 1, 2021, at Harley Street Clinic.
Just two days before Lisa's treatment was set to take place, they received a phone call to say it had been cancelled, due to flight and self-isolation guidelines changing in Germany.
Although Zimmer Biomet, who provide a robotics team for the treatment, were willing to train someone up in the UK, Jackie claims she was told the replacement had only operated on hips and knees before.
Jackie said: "We were ready to go. There we were last Saturday having to self-isolate, then we get a phone call out of the blue to say it was cancelled on Monday, June 1.
"We asked why. Everything had been figured out, including childcare. It was the duty manager at the clinic and said it was to do with Covid regulations.
"I said I wasn't happy. It's the self-isolating on the way back that is the problem.
"The key guy was coming from Germany. I think self-isolation has been in place for 10 days for some time, but whether the UK jumped from one list to another, I'm not sure.
"The operation is only an hour-and-a-half. He could be in and out in a day.
"He apparently had 10 operations scheduled in Germany [after Lisa's] and the company were not prepared to release him.
"That's when they came up with a plan to train up one of their guys in the UK.
"We said 'it does not sound an acceptable risk".
Now the family are left in the lurch as they wonder what lies ahead for Lisa, who is extremely unwell.
While they pray for some kind of solution, they are continuing to fundraise to pay for immunotherapy for Lisa, which can cost in the region of £13,000 per three-week course.
Jackie said: "My son said 'can't we get to America or something' but that would take so much time. We could be another two months' time if it were possible and to be honest, she's not very well at the moment.
"This has taken the wind out of her sails and yesterday she couldn't even work out how to boil an egg. They've just upped the steroids again.
"If it hadn't been for this operation, she'd have been up and running on another treatment plan.
"That would be a last-ditch thing. I feel we are heading on a downward slope but the more time that's lost, the worse off we are."
A spokesman for The Harley Street Clinic said: "For reasons of confidentiality we are unable to comment on individual patients.
"The care and safety of our patients is our highest priority. We explore every option to ensure that planned care can go ahead.
"There are very rare occasions where this is not possible, we understand how incredibly hard this can be for patients and their loved ones."
The Mirror has approached Zimmer Biomet for comment.
You can donate to Lisa's page here.
