Everything has come up smelling of roses for a grandmother after she recovered from a debilitating illness.

For several months, keen gardener Julie Naylor lost her senses of smell and taste because of a chronic sinus infection, which left her exhausted and in constant pain.

But after becoming one of the first people in Yorkshire to undergo a pioneering new form of surgery, the 57-year-old, from Ilkley, is back outdoors and enjoying the fragrances of her garden.

She said she was delighted after the surgery at a Leeds hospital.

“When I woke up the next morning, I was free of pain and the first thing I could smell was coffee and I walked out into my garden and smelled the flowers,” said Mrs Naylor, a grandmother-of-three.

“It’s fantastic, I feel like I have got my life back. I feel fully rejuvenated and full of beans.”

Mrs Naylor, a retired doctor’s receptionist, underwent a balloon sinuplasty after her illness forced her to give up some of her favourite hobbies including gardening, taking her grandson swimming and going to the gym.

She said the effects of the infection caused her to give up her active lifestyle. “I was in constant pain and suffered from heavy mucous and was blowing my nose every 15 minutes throughout the day,” she said.

“I had difficulty sleeping and felt completely exhausted. I had no sense of smell or taste and lost nearly a stone in weight.”

After several months, Mrs Naylor was referred to the ear, nose and throat surgeon Gerard Kelly at the Spire Leeds Hospital.

She then underwent the operation, which uses a small, flexible balloon catheter to open up blocked sinus passageways.

When the balloon is inflated it gently restructures and widens the walls of the passageways.

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