A Queensland woman whose skull is ‘slipping from her neck’ faces an anxious wait to see if doctors can perform life changing surgery to fix her head in place.

Kirstin Maltby, 32, has been diagnosed with craniocervical instability – a rare complication from her genetic connective tissue disorder, where her spine can’t support the weight of her skull.

“The bones in the neck are slipping each time I move and my skull is sinking,” she explained to Yahoo7 News.

It seriously hampers her ability to stand, breath and digest food. The pain is so severe she has an implant which releases morphine into her spine.

View photos Kirstin Maltby in a halo brace to keep her head and neck stable. Source: Supplied/ Kirstin Maltby More

She is bedridden the majority of her day.

Her latest, potentially fatal diagnosis comes after a lifetime of ill health which first started at the tender age of 12.

She was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome meaning her joints are vulnerable to dislocation from any slight movement.

“Things like sneezing I can dislocate my joints easily,” she said.

Among multiple other diagnoses over the years was intracranial hypertension which means she has too much fluid inside her brain.

View photos An X-ray of Ms Maltby’s neck, showing her vertebrae slipping out of place. Source: Supplied/ Kirstin Maltby More

Following multiple brain surgeries and treatment, which she estimates have set her back the price of “a considerable house deposit,” she is now unable to support her head.

Diagnosis puts university dream in doubt

“At the moment I spend 90 per cent of my time in bed and I quit my PhD,” she revealed.

The student, who now lives in Sydney, was halfway through her advanced research in sleep medicine at Notre Dame University when she was forced to quit due to her overwhelming symptoms.

“I feel terrible about having to stop,” she said.

“I uprooted my entire life to move interstate alone. Now halfway through unless a miracle happens, I will be unable to continue my PhD.

View photos Ms Maltby’s PhD dreams have been left shattered. Source: Supplied/ Kirstin Maltby More

Story continues