Woman who smashed spine falling down stairs makes miracle recovery in 10 days

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."

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Suing doctors over a miracle baby is just plain wrong

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I am in shock over the story of a woman in Ohio suing a clinic over a failed abortion – after she delivered a healthy baby.

This lawsuit is of particular interest to me, because as a high-risk obstetrician, I have had many complicated obstetrical cases. But I still can’t swallow how a physician gets sued for a wrongful birth.

RELATED: Woman sues Ohio clinic over failed abortion after delivering healthy 'miracle' baby

A wrongful birth suit occurs when a doctor, without causing any health risks to a fetus, is charged with negligence after a full delivery of the living child.  In this particular case, the patient alleges that the doctors failed to abort her fetus during her initial abortion.  The woman was told her pregnancy could put her life at risk, because she had been diagnosed with uterine didelphys – a condition which results in a double uterus with individual cervices.

Let’s look at a couple of facts:  A didelphys uterus does not necessarily mean that a pregnancy or a mother’s life is at risk.  There have been many successful pregnancies in which the mother has had a double uterus.  Yes, there are risk factors involved, especially when it comes to premature delivery.  However, to high-risk obstetricians, this condition is well understood.

Even though I have limited knowledge of all the facts in this case, a failed termination – especially during the first trimester – is quite common.  The chances are also heightened when, like in this case, the anatomy is distorted, or there are issues of obesity.  

It’s not clear to me if the patient wanted to follow up with the clinic to pursue another procedure.  According to a statement, she failed to show up for a second appointment.  Regardless, lawyers are still pursuing this wrongful birth suit, which in my opinion is unethical and immoral.  The reason it will move forward is because there are doctors willing to testify against this clinic for a hefty fee.

I am all for patients receiving compensation when there is negligence or maleficence on behalf of physicians or hospitals.  But when you have a healthy mother and a healthy baby, and the only charge is the inconvenience of giving birth to a miracle, then that’s just plain wrong.

Dr. Manny Alvarez

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