Samantha Fox

Broken Neck

Back in September, in the year of 2015 I woke up in a extremely good mood as the day before I sat for my driving test to go for my provisional license and passed it. It was my pay day and I was going to pay for my theory test so that I would be able to drive if I passed they theory test. So I got up and got ready, it was a horrid day outside, was wet and dark but that didn't bother me at all because it was going to be a good day, or so I thought. I left the house at about 7:30am, with my house mate who I was taking to work, I told him I was driving because I loved to drive and it was my own car, so we start heading through the windy roads that I had know my whole life, everything was going fine and I couldn't keep the smile off my face. About 15-20 minutes into the trip a song that I love came on the radio, the song was "Rain" by Dragon, as I'm singing out loud driving the car jolts a tiny bit but didn't concern me because the car didn't really do anything so I just kept driving but slowed down as it was wet on the roads and it was spitting and I was going to be going down hill. I get to this certain point down hill going around a corner and the car jolts again but this time the car's back end starts sliding to the right, I slowly just put the breaks on but the car just drifts around this huge corner. On the left side which we were facing was a barrier and a cliff edge and on the right side there was a huge rock wall, at this point I'm trying to stay calm and trying to control the car, the car hits a dry patch on the road and grips and straightens up. By this time I'm 15-20m away from the rock wall so I couldn't do anything to try and avoid it, the last thought going through my head was "shit this is going to hurt", braced myself for impact and then BANG! I woke up and the car was upside down on the roof further down the road with the roof caved it, I look around and my housemate isn't in the car but on the outside trying to open my door which he couldn't from the impact. I started not being able to breath properly as the seat belt was crushing my chest, I undid my belt and fell straight onto my neck but it didn't bother me at all, all I was worried about was getting out of the car so if another car came around the corner it didn't smash into my car. I get onto my hands and knees, crawling along the roof on the inside of the car over broken glass and things that were in my car scattered everywhere. Finally I get out of the car, turn around and see the car and can't believe I'm alive, I look at my housemate and just break down and start crying unbelievably and fall into his arms while he takes me over to the guard railing, at this time I notice my back starting to have this agonising shooting pain in my spine and my head starts to really hurt too. This taxi driver stops and asks if were ok, we ask if he can call an ambulance which he agreed to and takes off, while waiting for about 5-10 minutes later no ambulance and this car slows down and stops and asks if we need help, she tells me to get in the passenger seat of her car and she calls my family and an ambulance, I was so thankful for her as she was a nurse on the way to drop her children off to school and then go to work. Finally the Ambulance turns up and I get transferred into it, they get me strapped in and ask what happened, I didn't remember much and they gave me pain relief. We get to the hospital and I'm left in a cubical facing the roof and wasn't allowed to move, I started having a anxiety attack while I was in there not being able to talk to anyone or see anyone, I didn't see anyone for almost 4 hours. I had to have CT scans and MRI's and X-Rays, they finally found out was was wrong with me, I had fractured my spine and crushed it and broke my neck in my C4 and it moved forward, if it moved forward anymore I would have been a quadriplegic for the rest of my life. The next day I went in for surgery first thing in the morning, the sleep the night before was horrible as I was next to an old man with dementia and a broken neck, so every 20 minutes the nurses had to stop him from moving and yell at him as he was also deaf, they had to remind him that he's in hospital and he as a broken neck and not to move. I finally went in for surgery, not knowing if I was going to wake up and if I did wake up know if I'm going to walk again, thankfully my surgery went well and I woke up being able to move my legs and arms. While I was in hospital I had to learn to lift my neck up to put my neck brace on, so I could get up and walk around or even just sit, it was such a struggle and felt almost impossible but I got there, after the 4th day in there it was a lot easier. Day time was ok because I was sleeping a lot but night time was the worst as my back and neck would be in so much pain and the only way to make it feel better was to walk around. I was in hospital for 6 days all up, and the day I left was such a relief especially when I walked out of the hospital doors, feeling the warm sun on my skin after being inside all that time. I finally got to go home, which was a struggle being in the car and was painful. 7 weeks I was in the neck brace so my injury could heal properly, but I still get a heap of pain in my back from where I crushed my spine, and I can't turn my neck to the right all the way, I have to be careful with most things now. A whole year passed, and I went to the doctors but it wasn't for my neck or back, it was to find out if I was pregnant which I was, which is so crazy. Now I live with a little plate in my neck and tiny little screws, and m very thankful I am still here to tell the tale of my crazy life changing experience and near death experience.