A woman who smashed her spine in a horrific fall that could have left her paralyzed has made a miraculous recovery — in just 10 days.
Natalie Morris suffered such shocking injuries to her back that doctors warned her she may never walk again.
A vertebrae in the brunette’s spine had cracked and burst open, breaking the bone and tearing all the ligaments and tendons surrounding it.
Doctors described the break as “toe curling,” but Morris has been left with no lasting injuries, and has recovered from her fall.
The 26-year-old said: “I can’t believe how lucky I am. When I first went to (the hospital) they thought I’d just banged myself up a bit, but as soon as my scans came back all hell broke loose.
“Everyone presumed the worst and they told me that in a worst case scenario, I could be paralyzed. I was terrified — I thought I’d never walk again.
“They did some tests and luckily I had some feeling in my lower legs so it was a good sign, but I never thought I’d have recovered so quickly.
“A doctor who saw me had been treating someone who’d had the same type of fall as me — but he’d been referred to another hospital because he’s never going to walk again. It really is a miracle that I’m ok.”
Doctors built a cage around Morris’ spine in a seven-hour operation to stabilize her back.
Morris, from South Yorkshire, U.K, said, “The vertebra was hanging onto the rest of my spine. Surgery was the best option.”
Morris, who works in finance, suffered the horrific injury when she fell down the steep stairs of her terraced home during the night.
She said: “I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet but I didn’t turn on the light.
“I missed my footing on the way to the bathroom and the next thing I knew I was in a pile at the bottom of the stairs.
“I didn’t really know what had happened but I could feel a searing pain right in the middle of my back.
“Thanks to the adrenaline, I was able to crawl over to my sofa where I rang National Health Service Direct (a medical help service). I explained what had happened and they told me to call an ambulance immediately."
Stay up-to-date on the biggest health and wellness news with our weekly recap.