She hit a telephone pole Saturday and broke her c2 vertebrea. They are doing surgery tomorrow to fuse it together. How worried should I be about this? My nerves have been shot…worried about her in the hospital for days in a neck brace, having to stay still or risk further damage/paralysis. Any advise/insight? Thanks all!
My grandfather broke his neck in the sixties, he was fine. He was in hospital for a long time, and it was scary for a while when they didn’t know how he would do, but he was fine. He used to joke that he had his bum on his head (a skin graft). He lived to be 87 and climbed trees and mountains well into his seventies.
I can’t remember what vertebra it was, so I can’t say anything about your daughter, I’m sorry. But I just wanted to let you know that even back in sixties they knew how to fix people well enough. I hope they can do even better for her! Good luck!
I don’t have any personal experience with this, but I’ve seen other people up and walking around shortly after spinal fusion surgery. I would say that since she arrived at the hospital without any spinal cord injury, she’s avoided the worst possible outcomes of cervical fracture. To my knowledge, most people with spinal fusions go on to live completely normal lives. The fusion of any one joint tends to put more burden of movement on the adjacent joints, so in some cases you end up with long-term damage that eventually requires fusion of those joints as well. If that happens, I think it’s typically something that’s decades away.
No experience or advice to offer, but I am so sorry to hear that! How old is she?
The brother of a friend of mine broke his neck during a vehicle roll over. He spent time in a halo neck brace which wasn’t at all fun but he recovered completely with no long-term effects. You didn’t say if there was any sign of paralysis - if there isn’t then chances are there won’t be. Once the surgery is done she’ll have some considerable recovery time but after that there is good reason to think she’ll be fine.
Best of luck to everyone. Take a deep breath, and don’t forget to take care of yourself during all the upset and chaos.
I’m sorry to hear that. It must be so scary! My thoughts are with you.
I didn’t break my neck, but I did break my back and despite receiving no medical care for it (long story), I recovered without any problems.i hope your daughter has a speedy and full recovery.
My heart goes out to her and to your family. Of course you’re worried. Who can expect otherwise ? I know people who have suffered a broken neck and were fine after surgery. I sincerely hope the doctors can repair the fracture. Millions of fusion surgeries have been performed and your daughter has a very good prospect for recovery. Best of luck and so sorry for this misfortune.
Best wishes to you and your family. I know you must be very worried.
I’ve known three people who have broken their necks and fully recovered. The story I know best is my uncle who, as a teenager in the 70’s, broke his neck and walked around in a brace for some time. He went on to become an avid motorcyclist (still is, at 60-something), a career Air Force pilot, and ROTC instructor, etc.
Good luck to your daughter in her recovery!
Sending good thoughts to her, you, and your family. You can’t stop worrying as a parent. Luckily she did not have further injuries and it sounds like she will be fine after the fusion. Fusion is a fairly common procedure for an orthopedic surgeon. Let us know how she is.
She’s 26…no neurological injuries…we are just scared to death.The whole " broken neck" thing… No experience with this injury whatsoever… family,friends,etc…thanks for your support everyone… I will update tomorrow!
Wow, how scary. But she’s getting the medical care she needs to prevent further injury, which is good. Now the rest of you need to be rally intentional and not do distracted things like step off curbs without looking.
No advice, but wishing your family good luck. That’s rough.
Oh, you poor guys! So glad she’s getting good care.
My son had a completely different spinal fusion surgery, so I don’t have much insight into that, but I will tell you something that I wish the nurses had told me: When people come out of back surgery, they sometimes don’t look like themselves. In the face, I mean. Because they are facing down for so long, and with all the IV fluids they give them, sometimes their faces look really poofy and sometimes bruised. I walked right by my own son’s bed in the Recovery room, because I didn’t recognize him. It went away fairly quickly, but it bothered me that I didn’t know about it beforehand. So I can give you that, at least.
My best wishes for a full recovery.
I had a coworker who broke his neck and had his spine fused. He made a full recovery.
(He did it the stupid way, diving into shallow water. He was extraordinarily lucky that his sister in law was there and was a nurse - she stabilized his neck.
Completely understandable that you’d find this frightening. However, no neurological injury is an excellent fact. Surgery will stabilize the broken bone and prevent further damage. She will, of course, have to recover from that surgery as well as the fact she does, indeed, have some broken bone and that takes weeks/months to heal regardless. But she’s 26, presumably healthy, she should be fine.
How ya holding up?