A mother-of-three in desperate need of an operation to help her eat again says she can’t afford the surgery.

Wanda Pedro claims she is fighting for her life after being diagnosed with a broken bone in her skull, caused by a car accident five years ago.

She walked away from the three-car pile-up on Palmetto Road in 2009 without a scratch — or so she thought.

But months later she began suffering from painful symptoms, including difficulty swallowing, which have gradually got worse.

Two doctors in the US have told her she has a fractured styloid process — a pointed piece of bone that extends down from the skull — and needs a costly operation to fix it.

But the unemployed 50-year-old has only basic government health insurance (HIP), so fears she may not be able to afford the surgery.

In the meantime, she can only manage a liquid diet and has lost 20lbs since the symptoms began.

Ms Pedro told The Royal Gazette she caused the car crash but thought no one involved suffered any injuries, including herself.

“I was under a lot of stress at the time,” she said. “There is nothing but sadness that surrounds my whole story. I had just taken a drive.

“I took my eyes off the road for a quick second. When I looked, everyone had stopped and [my car] was in the back of a van.

“That pushed the van into the back of the next car. I was thrown. I remember my head hitting the windscreen.

“I believe the seat belt was on but maybe it wasn’t clipped on properly. At the time, I didn’t realise the seriousness of any injuries that I sustained. There was no blood anywhere. I was not unconscious, I was just shaken up.”

She was able to walk away from the accident on foot to pick up her daughter Michelle, now 18, from a nearby ballet class.

It was only months later, while she was in the UK taking her daughter to school, that the pain started.

“I woke up one morning and couldn’t lift my head off the pillow,” said Ms Pedro. “My neck was in excruciating pain. That doesn’t even describe the pain I felt. I soon started to realise I couldn’t eat and was choking on my food.”

She saw doctors in the UK and the States and was eventually told by a physician at the Center for Headaches and Facial Pain in New Jersey that she had a “displaced styloid process fracture” at the base of her skull.

A specialist at Ohio State University Hospital confirmed the diagnosis in October.

“Now, I can barely stay alive,” claimed Ms Pedro, who also has two sons: Aaron, 25, and 15-year-old Michael. “[But] I am alive and I’m going to fight because I have three kids and they are who I’m fighting for.

“I have at least two of my children who are still in need of their mother’s input in their lives and at least three of them who need my love and I am fighting tooth and nail to do that.”

She said the surgery she needs could cost anywhere between $20,000 to $60,000 — money she doesn’t have.

Ms Pedro, from Pembroke, has asked the Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association (LCCA) for help and hopes she will get some assistance from HIP.

A company called Global Corporate Solutions (GCS) manages medical evacuations for both organisations and Ms Pedro said she was frustrated at the time it was taking to find her the right surgery at the most affordable price.

“I am trying to figure out who can help me right now,” she said. “I just feel like I’m losing my life to this injury very slowly but surely. I’m fighting to live, basically. It’s almost hard to believe.”

She added: “The longer [I have] this injury, the more permanent damage [there will be].

“I can’t feel anything on the right side of my mouth and throat.

“I’m going to have the surgery. I have to believe that no one is going to do anything to me that’s going to harm me more than I’m harmed already.”

Kirsten Bertrand, from GCS, said the organisation was unable to comment on Ms Pedro’s case due to confidentiality.

Veronica Harvey, executive director of the LCCA, also couldn’t comment.

She told this newspaper: “Any member of the public is welcome to make a donation to any client’s account here at any time.”

The LCCA can be reached on 292-1132.