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

For six months, keen gardener Julie Naylor lost her senses of smell and taste due to 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.

And she is delighted after the surgery at a Leeds hospital has enabled her to get back to doing the things she loved.

“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,” the grandmother of three said.

“It’s fantastic, I feel like I have got my life back.”

Mrs Naylor underwent a balloon sinuplasty after the illness forced her to give up some of her favourite hobbies including garden-ing, 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 fifteen 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 suffering for four 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 restructures and widens the walls of the blocked sinus passageways.

“In my view the new technology offers a real advance in sinus surgery,” Mr Kelly said.

“The first such operation was carried out in the UK in 2007 and Julie was one of the first to have the procedure carried out in West Yorkshire, and one of the first to have the operation at Spire Leeds Hospital.”

For more information about the surgery go to spirehealthcare.com.