Girl, 10, needs 13 holes drilled in skull for final bid to stop 700 seizures

A brave 10-year-old girl is set to have 13 holes drilled into her skull in a desperate last-ditch operation after suffering with more than 700 seizures.

Myla Ray has suffered from seizures since she was just four years old due to a rare brain malformation called Cortical Dysplasia and drug-resistant epilepsy. The young girl, from Kirkcaldy, Scotland, is due to have 13 electrodes drilled into her skull by medics at Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, on August 13.

Myla's dad, Scottish MMA star Steven Ray, has called his little girl "the real fighter in the family" ahead of her last-attempt operation. It comes after a schoolboy, 13, had both legs amputated after 'getting a cramp' at a sports camp.

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Myla has had to undergo multiple operations, surviving intensive care and being put in a coma all before her 11th birthday as part of her fight against the relentless seizures. Her dad said: "She's only 10 years old and she's already went through way more than I have my whole life."

Doctors diagnosed Myla with frontal lobe epilepsy and later found a malformation in her brain called cortical dysplasia - a condition that began before birth. She had part of her brain removed in May 2023, but the seizures returned, according to the Daily Record.

This final desperate attempt to help Myla will see doctorstry and trigger a seizure to reveal exactly which area of her brain needs to be treated or removed. Surgeons will insert 13 rods into her brain and the young Scot will be monitored for a week in a bid to identify the exact seizure source.

If no seizure happens naturally, her medication will be stopped, increasing the risk of a coma or even death. Mum, Natalie said: "If we don’t do it, the seizures will keep getting worse and it could kill her.

"They told us the medication was no longer working. We were told if we don’t go ahead with this next operation, there's a high probability of death as she's drug resistant."

Natalie added: "They’ve talked us through everything that could go wrong. She could have a heart attack, a stroke or they could hit a blood vessel, but at this point it's our only option."

Myla's condition has also taken a toll on her development and has left the ten-year-old with the brain capacity of a four-year-old. The youngster doesn’t understand days, weeks or danger, and often uses a wheelchair when her mobility is affected. Despite it all, Natalie appreciates the better days, saying: "I'm so thankful for the days she's going about laughing."

Back in 2023, before Myla's first surgery, her parents turned to fundraising to pay for private care as NHS wait times grew too long. The campaign went viral, attracting donations from around the world - including a £1,000 contribution from Outlander star Sam Heughan and a staggering £10,000 from UFC president Dana White.

Steven launched the GoFundMe alongside Natalie which smashed the initial £100,000 target, eventually reaching over £110,000. Should the procedure be a success, Myla is likely to face more brain surgery potentially by the end of the year. The family are staying strong even as they face terrifying possibilities.

Natalie added: "We’ve been told the odds; it’s basically 50/50 whether she’ll be able to have another operation after this one. But at this point we will try anything."