A woman who fell down a 12ft drop and fractured her neck in three places has made a miracle recovery and welcomed a baby boy.
Cary Edby, 25, had gone out for a cigarette two days before Christmas in 2019 when she lost her footing and somersaulted over a wall and towards the basement flat below – face first.
At first Cary couldn’t move her mouth to speak but finally mustered the energy to call for help.
Luckily two strangers heard her and were able to get her mum, Diane Dee, 59, who called the ambulance and fire brigade.
It took three hours for the firefighters to get Cary out from where she was stuck and she was rushed to William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent.
A CT scan revealed she had fractured her neck in three places, and she was moved to King’s College Hospital, London, where Cary had spinal surgery on Christmas Eve.
Although a broken neck can be a life-threatening injury or cause paralysis, after three months of wearing a neck brace Cary is now, incredibly, fighting fit.
She’s also gone to become a mum, welcoming son Freddy, one, with her partner, Connor Wright, 27, a general manager, in April 2022.
Cary, from Ramsgate, Kent, said: ‘When I fell, I couldn’t talk or move. I thought “this is it – I’m paralysed.”
‘I wanted to call for help, but I couldn’t open my mouth. Finally, I was able to, but it was really quiet and raspy.
‘Then I heard a voice saying, “we can hear you” and two heads appeared from up on the wall.’
As the passers-by fetched her mum, Cary says she heard a ‘drip noise and thought it was raining.’ However, it was actually the sound of blood trickling from her head.
‘Everyone feels it’s a complete miracle I’m okay,’ she added.
The stay-at-home mum believes that previous spinal fusion surgery for scoliosis saved her, with the metal joints she had in place reducing the severity of the breaks.
Cary spent 14 days in hospital before going home in a neck brace – which she wore for three months.
Slowly she has gained her mobility back, but is left with a 50% reduction in mobility in both sides of her neck – meaning she struggles to turn her head.
Yet, doctors are amazed that Cary can still walk and hasn’t been left paralysed from the accident.
She said: ‘It’s completely amazing. Doctors can’t believe I’m not in a wheelchair.
‘Crossing the road is difficult. I have to move my entire body to look left and right.’
Sadly, Cary’s mum Diane – who had helped look after her during lockdown – passed away due to Covid-19 in December 2021.
At the time, Cary was five months pregnant, and had lost her nan, Sylvia, 80, just a month beforehand.
‘I feel like their souls have gone into Freddy,’ she said.
Despite still strugglingwith chronic pain, nerve damage and balance, though, Cary loves being a mum.
She added: ‘It’s been series of unfortunate events I have nerve damage behind my ears, and I get dizzy when I bend over.
‘Connor helps out a lot with Freddy.
‘Freddy is amazing. He’s very funny. He’s got my nan’s smile and I think he looks like my mum.’
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