“I’m going to die!” 

These were the words 22-year-old Sydney yelled to her friends as she sledded down a steep, snowy hill on a blow-up innertube.

She accelerated faster and faster until she hit the jump built up at the bottom of the hill. Upon impact, she was launched off, flipping backwards into the air. She remembered closing her eyes, knowing her landing was not going to be good. Her upper back was the first thing to hit the cold ground. She folded in half like a lawn chair.  

Once the initial shock and pain subsided, she tried to wiggle her toes—at least she felt some sensation there, but she knew something was seriously wrong. Her husband, along with the rest of the group, ran to her side. They knew they had to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible, but were worried about moving her and potentially causing more damage.

They carefully rolled her onto a flat sled and put the sled on the backs of some, who crawled on hands and knees while others walked next to them and steadied the sled as much as possible.  

When they arrived at the hospital, Sydney was immediately taken into the ER to subdue the pain and receive a CT scan.

Sydney and her husband waited and hoped for good news, but when the doctor came in after seeing the scan, the news wasn’t good. Sydney had a burst fracture, which is a an injury to the spine in which part of the vertebrae is severely compressed. He explained that she would need emergency surgery because the lamina bone was pressing into her spinal cord. But he told her she was in good hands with the neurosurgeon on call.

At 1:00 a.m., Dr. Edwards came to check in on her and informed her that he had scheduled surgery for the following morning. He said he was confident that the procedure and her recovery would go well. Sydney reflected at how moved she was by his visit, especially since he had just come out of surgery and was sure to be tired.

Just as Dr. Edwards predicted, the surgery went very well. Sydney made steady progress in her recovery, having a little more mobility and a little less pain each day.

Looking back six weeks after surgery, Sydney is more grateful than ever for her ability to walk and the chance to live life fully once again. 

#summitbrainandspine

#drjohnedwards

#lifeisback