Comic on the mend after spine op

The 3ft 6in comedian underwent an agonising operation on 23 of her vertebrae last month to correct the effects of degenerative disease called spinal stenosis, which crushes the spinal cord.

However, doctors have now allowed her to return to her Las Vegas home, from where she said: ‘I’m mentally much better. I have to use a walker to get around but I’m feeling stronger every day.

‘It’s a long road to recovery and I’m sick that I’ll miss Edinburgh this year but this had to be done. I have to learn to walk again which is very tiresome.’

Her ordeal was taped for an ITV1 Superhuman documentary, possibly subtitled Little People, expected to air in early October. The show follows the success of a previous film about giants.

Canadian-born Davis, who usually spends a few months a year working in the UK, now hopes to be back on stage by America’s Labor Day holiday – September 1 – when she has a performance scheduled in Vegas.

Before the operation, she felt a constant tingling sensation in her arms and legs, which has now disappeared. ‘The morning after surgery I felt like I had new feet,’ she said.

Published: 10 Jul 2008