'I have no words to thank him': BGT dancer pays tribute to Simon Cowell after he funded her £175,000 surgery to fix her spine (and reveals she hopes to perform again in just three months)
- Julia Carlisle thanked the music mogul for his generosity on This Morning
- Simon Cowell paid £175,000 for the dancer to be flown to the US for the surgery
- Julia, who is in recovery, revealed that she is already practicing dance moves
A BGT contestant, who was told that her scoliosis would prevent her from ever dancing again, has thanked Simon Cowell after he funded her life changing surgery.
The talent show judge footed the £175,000 bill needed to pay for the surgery on Julia Carlisle's spine.
Julia, 15, who competed in this year's Britain's Got Talent as part of the Mersey Girls, today appeared on This Morning where she thanked the music mogul.
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Julia Carlisle appeared on This Morning where she thanked Simon Cowell after he paid £175,000 for her to have surgery to fix her scoliosis
Julia, who was interviewed in LA where she is recovering from surgery, said: 'Thank you so so much. I have no words to thank him. What he's done for me is just the best thing ever.'
The dancer travelled to New Jersey with her family in July, to receive the surgery that has restored her hope in being able to dance again.
The procedure, called vertebral body tethering, involves screws being fixed along a cord inside the back. The current NHS procedure for scoliosis would run the risk of Julia never dancing again.
Speaking to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on Thursday Julia admitted that the recovery process had been challenging.
She added: 'It is one of the hardest thing I've ever done but yesterday was a breakthrough. I just decided I'm gonna get better now as I want to dance.
The Mersey Girls shared this photo of Julia following her operation in New Jersey in July
Julia, who is in recovery in LA, said there are 'no words' she can say to thank the music mogul
'If it hadn’t happened, by now I would have had the fusion, would be at home recovering slower than I am now, and probably be a mess knowing I wouldnt be able to dance again.'
It normally takes patients just six weeks to recover from an operation of this nature and is reversible if it doesn't work.
Julia added that she was already ready to put on her dancing shoes once more: 'I’m already practicing dance moves two weeks after op - I'm hoping to be dancing in three months time.'
Simon approached the group - who are made up of Julia's friends, as well as her older sister Alice, 17 - after their last performance on BGT to give Julia the good news.
Describing the moment Julia said: 'He just said backstage "it's true, it is gonna happen", I was just in tears - happy tears.'
Fellow Mersey Girls - Alice Carlile, Annie Winstanley, Becky Jordan and Poppy Gerrard - also appeared on This Morning to discuss their friend's recovery
The Mersey Girls competed in this year's Britain's Got Talent where they revealed that Julia would never dance again due to her scoliosis
The other five members of the group joined Eamonn and Ruth in the studio where they discussed Julia's recovery.
Said one: 'She’s been so determined through her whole journey. She's been amazing couldn't ask for a better friend. '
Another added: 'She will try and dance before she thinks she can, but she will take it slowly as know she wants to get better fully.'
The girls also revealed that they have been working on songwriting and hope to release when Julia is back home.
Simon approached the group - who are made up of Julia's friends, as well as her older sister Alice, 17 - after their last performance on BGT to give Julia the good news
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