Internal Decapitation Victim Continues Recovery

Published January 13, 2015

A Colorado woman who made national headlines earlier this year after suffering an "internal decapitation" in a car accident is moving ahead in her recovery but has a long road ahead, she recently told ABC News 7 in Denver.

In January, Shannon Malloy suffered "atlantooccipital dislocation," also known as an internal decapitation.

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The injury occurred when the force of her head hitting a car dashboard separated her skull from her spine. Since then, she's undergone six surgeries and has more ahead of her.

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Doctors were able to fuse her skull and neck together using a halo, which came off in April. But she still suffers head movement and swallowing problems.

The crash also damaged the nerves that controlled Malloy's eye position, making them crossed. One surgery attempted to straighten them but was unsuccessful.

"When I woke up from the surgery they were straight. Then three days later they were both completely outward. So it was totally opposite of what they were before. It was scary. I couldn't walk by myself," Malloy told ABC News 7.

She still has one stubborn eye that she must wear a patch on and will soon have another surgery to try and correct it. Malloy said she plans to read the latest Harry Potter book once her eyes are corrected.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/story/internal-decapitation-victim-continues-recovery